


AWG Book 1: The Legend Begins

by Varewulf



Series: Ainz Woolfe Gown [1]
Category: Overlord - Maruyama Kugane & Related Fandoms
Genre: Ainz Woolfe Gown, Gen, I'm such a dweeb, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, basically all of book 1 redone, but I'm letting you see it anyway, honestly a bit embarrassing, no disrespect intended, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-05 16:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14048139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: So I did a very self-indulgent and embarrassing rewrite/what if of the first book of the Overlord series, and I originally was not planning to post it. I really love this series, and this is such a self-centred power fantasy.I went back and forth on this for weeks, and honestly I still feel embarrassed about letting anyone besides a few friends actually see it.Maybe no one will want it, or everyone will hate it.But here it is: The first book of my self-insert version of Overlord. I've even included a foreword if you want more details about how this mess came about.





	1. Foreword

This started from the simple idea I had that if I was the Overlord protagonist, I would change Albedo's settings to say she liked hugs and cuddles, instead of saying she was in love with me. The original intention was not to rewrite the whole book. I figured I would just pick some scenes from here and there. But then I got started, and here we are. This is a different shape from my original intention, like I intended to make it much goofier, but I just couldn't stop taking it a bit more seriously.

Though it is not exactly the whole book. I have told almost only the events from Ainz's point of view, and left out basically everything else. On the basis that there wouldn't really be a lot, if anything, to change in the scenes not featuring my version of Ainz. It's all very, very self-indulgent, to a somewhat embarrassing degree. Hence why I hesitated to post this publicly. 

I have stayed fairly true to the events of the original story, trying to focus on just what showed up in the anime, but unable to help myself incorporating some of the stuff exclusive to the book as well. So it turned into being a mashup of the anime's events with extra book knowledge and context shoved in. A few original scenes have been added, and I've cut certain things that were a part of events because I felt they were unnecessary. Which feels a bit arrogant to say. 

Though of course the meat of the changes is simply how my character handles things, and doing some rewrites in a way I think it flows better. Not that I think the official English translation is bad, but the flow of it doesn't always suit my writing style. Even though a lot of the phrasing and dialogue I have ripped directly from the book.

The name change of the guild came about entirely from remembering the Virginia Woolf was a real person's name, and because my character's a werewolf. It's not clever, but it is definitely silly. I do poke a bit of fun at the original story here and there.

Since the book and the anime subs use different translations and spellings for things, I ended up just picking from one or the other as I felt like it. I can't rule out that I haven't changed terms at any point.

Naturally my version of Ainz is heavily based on myself, and on the character I tend to create and RP over and over again in games. So it's fictionalised and exaggerated, but most aspects of the character come from something in my own life.

And since I'm such a weeb, I have kept the Japanese honorifics wherever that has come up.

As for the spells, I have freely ripped names from all sorts of games and properties, with I think only two, maybe three, that I came up with on my own. That is in addition to the ones actually named in the books and anime. If you've played fantasy games at all, I'm sure you'll recognise some of them.

Finally: Because of the massive size of this, proofreading has been a daunting task. I have gone through it another time or two since my private posting, and putting it up here, and while I have caught a lot of stuff; typos, missing words, superfluous words, errors, and inconsistencies; I'm sure there's still a lot left in this whole mess of text.

All credit goes to Maruyama Kugane for creating this series I love so much.

If you decide to attempt to read through this monster, good luck.


	2. The End And The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of Yggdrasil, and the beginning of a new story.
> 
> Edit: Realised I had messed up a thing regarding the text format, which I think is now fixed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plan is to gradually post the whole story as I proofread, and find places to cut into chapters. So it'll probably be at least a day or two, maybe several, before everything is up.

* * *

Yggdrasil. A massively popular DMMO-RPG boasting unprecedented freedom in terms of character creation, activities, player housing, and so on. It was unmatched by anything else on the market, and took the world by storm. It was mostly popular in its home country of Japan due to never being localised outside of it, but a significant number of foreign players managed to create accounts to get access to the game regardless. Even if they didn't speak the language, there were plenty of tutorials explaining the menus and interface well enough for anyone to be able to play solo. And there were entire foreigner guilds.

But she hadn't joined any of those. _It was fun_ , she thought. _It was a lot of fun_. She had been just barely fluent when she first started, and it had been rough for a while. But she had made friends, most of them Japanese, and they had formed their own guild. _It had been so fun_. But now...

It was over. After 12 years of ongoing service, the Yggdrasil servers were shutting down tonight.

"Wulfy-san. Long time, no see," a voice coming from another chair at the vast round table said. Out of the 41 chairs around the table, only the two of the speaker, and the one spoken to, were occupied.

"Herohero-san," she responded warmly. Someone else had shown up. She had nearly given up hope. "How long has it been? Two years?"

"That long?" Herohero sounded tired. "I've been working so much that my sense of time has been completely messed up." His drooping form sat up a little, or at least it looked that way. The elder ooze creature avatar he had always looked drooping no matter what stance he was in. "Sorry, I didn't come here just to complain."

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you came at all," Wulfy said, and added a smiley emoticon. Even cutting edge Dive MMO tech wasn't able to model facial expressions yet, so that was the best they could do to express sentiment.

"I'm glad I was able to have a final look before the end. Unfortunately I have to go again," Herohero said already. "I am dead tired, and have to get up early tomorrow."

"Ah... I understand," Wulfy said.

"It was good seeing you again. I hope we meet again some time." He brought up the main menu, and hovered over the logout button, but then paused to look around. "I'm a little surprised to see the Great Tomb of Nazarick still standing. You must have been taking care of it, Wulfy-san."

Wulfy couldn't figure out how to respond before Herohero hit the logout button and vanished. "Hey, since it's the last night, why not stay until the end?" she asked the empty room afterwards. Full knowing that he was gone already. She leaned back into the chair.

Of course she had taken care of it. The Great Tomb of Nazarick was the place that all of them had built together. The grand result of all of their work. Their legacy. Emotion welled up in her, and she slammed her fist onto the table. A number of 0 helpfully popped up to let her know she had not inflicted any damage.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she spat. "All of this work, all we've created, and they just abandon it so easily? Abandon me?!" But even though no one had heard her, she still regretted saying those words out loud. That wasn't the case. She was being unfair. They hadn't turned on her, there had been no great betrayal. She knew their decisions hadn't been easy at all.

As her health had gradually deteriorated, she had ended up spending more and more time in the game. When she was no longer allowed to work at all, this became her sole 'job', if that's what you wanted to call it. The others had their lives, and she knew it wasn't fair to resent them for prioritising real life over the game. That was just how life went. They got older, got families, got more work. They weren't the same crowd they had been 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. She had kept Nazarick going on her own, in case they ever wanted to come back. Maintenance was easy compared to what it had taken to build this place.

But they hadn't shown up in the end, and now she was alone. That even one of them had shown up was basically a miracle, if she was being completely realistic about it. For a moment she was tempted to just logout herself, but decided against it. There was still about an hour left, and she might as well make the most of it. She didn't dare hold any hope that any of the others might still show up any longer, but a final tour of the place might be nice.

She got up.

* * *

Her avatar was that of a tall werewolf. A beastly face, body covered entirely in reddish brown fur, furry hands and feet, and even a tail. She had gone all out with the character creator, because she could. The game allowed you to make all sorts of characters, even inhuman ones. But compared to some of the guild members, she looked positively normal.

Her gear was entirely made up of God Tier items. Her vestments were clearly those of a magic caster: A vast robe made of elegant red and black cloth with a gold-trimmed hood, magical rings on every finger save one, dark leggings, gold-trimmed boots in a pattern that matched the hood, an extravagant necklace, and so on. Though the robe was so large it hid most of it from sight.

Wulfy the Werewolf Wizard she called herself, though that was not a title recognised by the game. Werewolf Matriarch was the ultimate race she had levelled into, and because of the broad range of available class levels to pick, her role was lumped in under the simple title of Magic Caster.

* * *

On the wall by the door out of the room was a case containing their Guild Weapon: The Staff of Ainz Woolfe Gown. They had put so much work into creating this. Busted their asses grinding for materials, going on raids for special drops, using up vacation time, and bargaining with families to stay on just a little longer. The result was a golden staff comprised of seven intertwined serpents spiralling down to a single tip, with each serpent holding a gem of immense power in its mouth at the top. While not officially recognised as one, its power was certainly on par with most World Items, allowing its wielder to do things that they shouldn't normally be able to.

It was the ultimate testament to their guild's achievements, and had never seen use because it was so precious. Losing it would have basically destroyed the Guild. But tonight was the last night, so as guild leader she felt it was her duty to wield it at least once.

The staff lit up with a malicious aura as she grabbed hold of it. There was a massive boost to her stats and abilities as soon as it was in hand, she could practically feel it. The light tapping sound it made against the floor as she walked was rather pleasant.

* * *

There were two requirements for joining Ainz Woolfe Gown: Your avatar had to be inhuman, and you had to be a functioning member of society. While that final point had faded away for Wulfy over the past few years, none of the others had voted to kick her out. Heck, not a lot of them had been left when she started getting really sick, so they might not even know. Now a lot of them had gone on to do great things in the real world. She really couldn't blame them for choosing that over this.

* * *

Typically she would teleport around the place, but tonight she might as well walk. It had been a while since she'd actually seen much of the 10th floor. It was the final, and most lavish, of the floors of Nazarick. Not only their last line of defence, but also home to most of their leisure facilities. They weren't strictly necessary, and hadn't seen a lot of use, but a lot of the members had made something down here to make it feel more like a real place.

The halls were empty aside from a few NPCs walking about on their routes. She came across a maid who stopped and bowed when she came close. They were entirely autonomous, but programmed to be loyal, and to listen to orders. Herohero had actually been among the handful who had created the AI framework they used for all of the NPCs. Wulfy wasn't sure whether they had any actual tasks to do, or had been created just for the look of it. She had her suspicions about the latter. The nerds who had created NPCs for this guild had been really into maids, so there were quite a few of them around the place.

She stopped to have a look. The maid's expression was motionless, like how they were with players. Otherwise she looked much like a real person. "Thank you for your hard work," Wulfy said. She had no idea what was going to happen to them all when the servers went down. Presumably it would all be deleted. The maid didn't respond, of course, and Wulfy just walked on.

Heading down a set of stairs she came upon a different group of NPCs. An elderly-looking man with white hair and a short beard, and the appearance of a dignified butler. Beside him: Six maids, though these were quite different from the earlier ones she'd seen. These were the Pleiades, the combat maids who were the final line of defence should any players make it all the way to the 10th floor. But no one ever had, so they had just been here on perpetual standby.

* * *

Wulfy remembered the butler. Sebas. Full name Sebas Tian. Touch Me was bad at naming things, himself included, so it made sense that an NPC he made would get a name like that. That was the reason it stuck with her. If she recalled correctly, he was the leader of this group.

The maids though, those were more difficult. She was terrible with names if she didn't use them regularly. Oh, but she knew this one. The red-headed cutie with the strange cap. Lupusregina Beta. They all had a Greek letter attached to them, because the Guild members were all a bunch of nerds who though that was an awesome idea. In all fairness, she was one of them.

But the thing about Lupusregina was that Wulfy was certain she had been created to poke fun at her. The others wouldn't admit it, but was she supposed to believe they just happened to make a werewolf maid without it being in any way a reference to her? They had definitely been giggling when they showed her the settings and backstory. The hair colour was even similar to her fur, but she definitely didn't have a secret evil side like Lupusregina's bio said. That was a ridiculous notion.

The maids all looked superficially human though, even Lupusregina. Wulfy knew she had wolf ears hidden under the cap, but otherwise she was passable as human. The others were much the same, and Wulfy briefly looked up their names. There was the big-sister-looking Yuri Alpha with her cute glasses. The cool, dark-haired beauty Narberal Gamma. And the blonde, pretty, and bouncy Solution Epsilon. Anyone not in the know would be unlikely to guess they weren't human.

Less passable as regular humans were the automaton CZ2128 Delta (Shizu for short), and the arachnoid Entoma Zeta. They looked mostly human, but their creators hadn't been able to resist letting some of their true nature show. Shizu's eyepatch really stuck out, and some her mechanical parts could be seen. A close look at Entoma's 'face' would give her away immediately, not to mention her 'hair' clearly not being human.

It would have been interesting to have seen them all fight as a unit, but any raiders strong enough to have made it this far, would have probably had no trouble with the Pleiades either. The sentiment in the guild had been that all the members should wait in the throne room at the end to be the final bosses, so that other players could treat this as a raid dungeon. So the Pleiades would have probably only been able to buy some time at best.

* * *

Maybe she should take them along for the walk. Surely the rest of guild would forgive her for doing what she wanted in this final hour. "Follow," she commanded, and the whole group fell in line behind her. Arranged after their Greek letters, with Sebas at the head. It was a strange feeling to have them walking behind her like this, but it also made her smile. Like a mother duck and her ducklings.

It really hit her how big the 10th floor was, and that going on foot she had no hope of exploring it all in less than an hour. But she'd see what she could, and then head to the throne room at the end. There was the maze with its thematically appropriate domain guardian, the giant statues that came to life when enemies approached, the trap gauntlet... and the 'leisure district' containing the bars, common rooms, a casino, some sports facilities, etc. She had sometimes come down here to play some of the games. The mere idea of playing a game within a game sort of amused her. Someone had even made a chapel, though she didn't know to what god.

With just under fifteen minutes left, she was at the door of the throne room. The massive doors swung open, and the sight they revealed was an image of pure glory. Architectural design wasn't one of Wulfy's strong points, but they had some really talented people in the Guild. The room looked every bit as impressive as you'd expect from something called a throne room. The pillars along the side were gloriously detailed, and from each one hung a banner with the symbol of one of the guild members. 41 banners. As one of the founding members, and the Guild Leader, hers was all the way down at the end.

She couldn't even see the ceiling when she looked up, yet brilliantly blue chandeliers hung down from it, bathing the whole room in glorious light. On the back wall was the banner of the guild itself, and down below it sat the throne. It was so lavish in its design that it almost felt like a sin to sit in it.

And by the throne stood... "Albedo," Wulfy said out loud. An immaculate beauty, and the strongest NPC in Nazarick. For all her trouble with names, Wulfy remembered all the floor guardians, and Albedo as the one overseeing them. If none of the members were around, she was the final boss, and the leader in their stead. Though with the horns on her head, and the wings at her waist, she was obviously not human. The rule for membership of Ainz Woolfe Gown extended to the NPCs as well. There might be a few exceptions, but in general none of the NPCs in here were human. Even if they looked like it on the surface.

She gave the Pleiades the command to 'Stand by' before sitting down on the throne. They all stepped to the side, and went down on one knee. After taking her seat, Wulfy brought up Albedo's info screen. Yeah, she was some sort of demon. The character description said... _Eesh, so much text_ , Wulfy thought when she clicked onto that tab. She enjoyed writing herself, and if she'd had more time it might have been interesting to read all of this. But that was time she did not have. There was only one person in the guild who would write something this long and elaborate, though.

She skimmed through the description. Apparently Albedo was a succubus, so Wulfy had a feeling where this was going. Sure enough, at the very end it said: " _On the outside she's a composed and peerless beauty, but underneath it all she's a slut_ ". _Damn it, Tabula-san_. Tabula Smaragdina was Albedo's creator, and loved writing elaborate backstories and descriptions for his characters. And he loved putting in stuff like this. He liked his characters having some contradiction in how they appeared, and how they really were.

It was his creation, so it was absolutely his right. They were just NPCs after all, but this really seemed a little much for the esteemed overseer of all NPCs in Nazarick. Why couldn't he have gone with something like... a mischievous streak hit Wulfy. Normally you'd need a special tool to change any settings on an NPC, but having the Staff at hand worked just as well.

As soon as she gained access, she deleted everything after the 'but underneath it all'. In its place she entered: " _she loves hugs and cuddles_ ". There. That was a much better hidden personality as far as she was concerned. If Tabula wanted to show up, and change it back, then he was by all means free to do so. But with a mere five minutes left on the clock, that was unlikely to happen.

She sat back and looked out across the room. So empty. So alone. Should she just log out? It might be midnight in Japan, but it was only late afternoon where she was. She had to go buy groceries. But with just a few minutes left she might as well stay until the server shutdown kicked her out. She spent the time looking at everyone's banners, and thinking about them. Somehow those 40 names of her friends were impossible to forget, even with her poor memory for such things. Once again she was overcome with emotion, but there was no anger this time. Just melancholy. Sadness. Loneliness. And also a warmth from all the good memories they had made.

 _It was a really fun time_ , she thought. _Maybe we'll be back for Yggdrasil II_. It was a vague hope. No sequel had been announced, or even teased. She'd likely have to find something else to do now. Maybe a single-player game for a while before trying another MMO. A shooter might be nice. Or a crafting game. Once some time had passed, maybe she could look at that sci-fi MMO that became a hit last year. The character creator was probably not as good as Yggdrasil's, but playing as some fearsome alien might be fun.

The timer was now ticking down the last minute. Only thirty seconds left, and she closed her eyes. A deep fatigue was settling in over her. She'd have to take a shower before going outside. And she'd probably not have a lot of energy left once she came back. And tomorrow she had an appointment for her yearly physical check-up. It was going to be that kind of a week, she could tell already.

The final few seconds passed, and the server time hit midnight. And then... she was still there.

* * *

Her eyes shot open. Had she gotten the time wrong? Had they pushed back the server shutdown? Wait, where was the console? Where had the UI gone? She looked around, but nothing was there. The chat window, the minimap, the status window, the server time indicator... they were all gone. She could just see... she could just see the room. And she felt different. She wasn't sure how, but something definitely felt different.

The emergency functions. The chat might be gone, but there was still the GM Call. No, that wasn't doing anything either. Why not? She had accessed this effortlessly so many times. Why wasn't it working now?

 _What is going on?!_ She nearly shouted that out loud as she stood up. That felt weird too. Why would merely standing up...

"Is something wrong, Wulfy-sama?" A soft, feminine voice spoke, and Wulfy's head quickly turned to look at where it came from. It was... Albedo?

The demon was also down on one knee, and was looking up at her with... concern? In fact, Sebas and all of the Pleiades were looking at her too. Had it all been a fake-out, and they'd actually pushed a massive update? Because she was fairly sure NPCs shouldn't be able to make those expressions. No wait, she hadn't downloaded anything, so surely...

"Wulfy-sama?" Albedo spoke again, and startled Wulfy out of her train of thought.

She wasn't able to come up with a response, because the shock of Albedo talking to her on top of everything else happening had short-circuited her brain. All she could do was look back at Albedo, who even tilted her head to the side. How was this possible?

"Is something the matter, Wulfy-sama?" Albedo kept asking. "Please excuse me," she suddenly said, and got up. Got closer.

Wulfy just barely managed to not back away, and fall back onto the throne. Albedo's face got really close, and her eyes showed genuine concern. There was a pleasant scent coming off of her, and... wait, scent? She had never been able to smell anything in Yggdrasil before.

"Is there a problem?" Albedo asked, right up close. She really was quite pretty.

"Ah... um..." Wulfy finally managed to make some sounds. "The GM Call function isn't working," she blurted out, as nothing else came to mind.

Albedo backed off a little. "I'm sorry, my Lord. I do not know of this 'GM Call function' you mention. Please forgive my ignorance," she said, and then bowed in deference.

A few things occurred to Wulfy's confused mind. First off, Albedo's mouth was moving when she talked. That might seem like an obvious thing, but that had never been possible in the game. Not only was her expression shifting to display emotion, but her mouth was moving in accordance with what she was saying. Dive MMO technology was advanced, but it had its limits. This was definitely far beyond them.

Second, Albedo was responding as if this was an actual conversation. Was her programming really that detailed? No wait, the NPCs didn't speak at all outside of a few scripted lines.

Third, what the actual hell was going on? Albedo said something else as Wulfy sank back onto the throne, but she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't catch it.

There was the possibility some error had occurred. That the tech had gotten corrupted somehow, or the game itself had been. Maybe something had directly affected her brain. A scary thought, but she wasn't sure she could rule it out. Though wait, would she then be able to reason like this? She had no idea what brain damage was like. Yet it didn't feel like it explained everything currently going on.

Her gaze drifted to the Staff she was still holding. She let go, and it drifted a little bit away, then floated in place. That seemed to function like it would in the game, but the UI was gone, the console inaccessible, and contacting the GMs wasn't happening. What was she going to do?

She looked up at Albedo, who had her hands folded against her chest, and was still wearing a look of concern. Then she looked down at Sebas, who met her gaze. He looked as stoic as usual, but the way his expression shifted ever so slightly told her it wasn't just Albedo who was acting strangely. Right now she didn't know enough. That was the problem. She could order them to go investigate for her, but was that really right of her?

While she was the Guild Leader, that title didn't really mean as much as you might think. It was mostly administrative work, and accounting. She was good with numbers, and liked to keep things in order, hence why she was elected in the first place. She wasn't some great Leader of Men, nor had she ever had any particular desire to be in charge. But if not her, then who?

"Sebas," she said more firmly than expected. The voice was unfamiliar to her, but it couldn't have been anyone's but her own.

"Yes, my Lord," he responded, without a trace of sarcasm.

"Go outside, and confirm the surroundings of Nazarick," Wulfy ordered.

"Understood, my Lord," he said again, and got up.

"Pleiades." They all looked at her. "Go to the 9th floor and guard it against possible intruders. If anything seems out of the ordinary, have someone report back to me immediately."

"As you wish, Wulfy-sama," Yuri Alpha answered for all of them, and they moved out.

As they briskly exited the room, Wulfy found herself watching them go. That was a strange sensation, the way they listened without question. And they had understood an order that wasn't any of the usual commands. She was curious about whether they were going to do exactly as instructed, or they were just following basic programming, but she couldn't exactly follow them. Next...

Albedo's look of concern appeared eased, and she was now smiling. Did Wulfy taking charge please her?

Regardless she still needed a way to contact the GMs. What about the Message skill? Though she didn't know the names of any of the GMs, so that might not work. Actually, could she use magic at all now? She couldn't access the UI, meaning no hotbars, and no reviewing the spell book. Yet it felt like something was lurking in the back of her mind, if only she reached for it...

"Wulfy-sama," Albedo spoke again, and Wulfy looked at her. "What would you have me do?"

A good question. There were certain actions she could take that would definitely draw the attention of the GMs if they were around. Like anything R-rated was strictly forbidden, and they would come down hard on her for that. But... honestly her heart wasn't into the idea.

"Come here," she told Albedo. She had meant to say 'please', but for some reason that had gotten omitted.

Right now she was feeling no small amount of stress, she was fighting a sense of panic, and she wanted to cry. Pretending that she was in control was a way of coping, so perhaps that's why she so naturally framed everything as an order. But this next part...

Albedo was right next to Wulfy again, and Wulfy swallowed nervously. "Albedo," she started, again speaking more calmly than she honestly felt. "This may sound like a strange request, and I will respect it should you decline, but... may I have a hug?" She well remembered what she'd done, and couldn't believe she was trying to take advantage of that right away. _Though it's also an experiment_ , she told herself. If Albedo could understand such a strange proposition, then that would mean... something. She could think about that part later.

Albedo's face showed surprise for a moment, but then her smile returned. "Of course, Wulfy-sama," she said, and sat down in Wulfy's lap before hugging her.

That was a bit more than she had expected, but perhaps that was Wulfy's own fault for not standing up first. She found herself returning the hug, and was really worried she was going to cry, but no tears came forth. Which was a relief, as crying in front of any of the NPCs felt like something she definitely shouldn't do. Albedo felt soft enough to be real, and she was warm. She smelled nice.  _I'm really sorry, Tabula-san_ , Wulfy thought.

"Thank you, Albedo," she said, and gently pushed the demon away to signal that the hug was over.

Albedo disengaged and got up. "No need to thank me, Wulfy-sama. I am yours to command," she said, still smiling.

That made Wulfy's guilt a little stronger. Tabula put so much effort into everything he created, and probably Albedo most of all, yet Wulfy had changed it for her own amusement. Well, she had only changed a little bit, but even so. And if her fears were correct, there might no longer be a way to change things back, but what was done was done.

It was time to move forward, and she had thought of a place to start. "Contact all of the floor guardians except the fourth and eighth floors, and have them meet at the Amphitheatre on the sixth floor in an hour. I will go and inform Aura and Mare myself," she said. She would dispatch someone with different orders for Gargantua and Victim.

"Understood," Albedo said, and straightened up. "To reiterate: You want me to contact all of the floor guardians, except those of the fourth, sixth, and eighth floors, and have them meet at the Amphitheatre on the sixth floor in one hour from now."

"Correct. Now go," Wulfy commanded, and Albedo bowed before briskly exiting the room like Sebas and the Pleiades had.

This was a mess. Had the game world actually turned real in some way? Was that truly possible? She didn't know, but it was starting to seem that way. A scary thought. Which would mean she was truly alone...

Guilt aside, the hug had helped. She felt calmer now. And she could sense her own body better. As she got up it was hard to not notice how much stronger she felt. As if there was a disconnect between what her brain expected, and what she was feeling. Not that that was entirely new, but it somehow didn't feel... wrong. That part was certainly different.

There wasn't really time to ponder that right now though, she had stuff to do. Sitting around wasn't going to get any of her questions answered any time soon, so she needed to do some investigating of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this plays out basically like the opening of the book/show. I cut it a bit short of where episode 1 ended, but there's going to be a lot of exposition and such to begin with, so I may as well not dump it all on you at once.  
> The only big change is my original idea: Changing Albedo's settings to something different. Now, a footnote on the original settings. Both the book and the anime translate it as "underneath it all she's a bitch". Which raised my eyebrow a little my first time viewing, because I didn't see why Momonga reacted so strongly to that.  
> The context came later, when I learned that "bicchi/bitchi" does not, in fact, mean "bitch" as we think of it in the west, but it's something closer to "slut". So of course he'd react to that being pretty bad.


	3. New Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the idea of a new world slowly sinking in, it was time to conduct some tests to see how things worked now.

* * *

Curiosity compelled her to seek out some of the other NPCs nearby to see if they also listened to her. While it seemed like Albedo, Sebas, and the Pleiades had full loyalty towards her, she couldn't be sure that extended to everything in Nazarick. Yet the guard statues and others nearby responded to her with complete obedience. That was relieving, but she should probably investigate this more later.

Next was an even more important test. She had to know what still worked like it did in Yggdrasil, and what didn't. On the ring finger on her right hand sat the Ring of Ainz Woolfe Gown. It served only one function: Let the bearer teleport freely around Nazarick (with a few exceptions), and even teleport in from outside. Regular teleportation wasn't possible due to the Tomb's defences, so the ring was the only way.

If it failed, then she still had time to make it to the Amphitheatre. She knew some shortcuts to quickly get up there. If it succeeded... without an icon it wasn't clear what to do, but she focused her mind on the ring, and where she wanted it to take her. Her view shifted, and suddenly she was in a corridor leading to the Amphitheatre.

"Success..." she whispered to herself. It had only been a hunch that it would work, but it paid off. Maybe she had some instinctual awareness of these things now that this had turned real? Or it was all a dream or hallucination that obeyed her will.

Instant teleportation was a bit disorienting though. That was going to take some getting used to. Actually, there was a lot that was going to take some getting used to if things remained this way.

The bars blocking entry to the Amphitheatre opened as soon as Wulfy got close, and she stepped into the place. A simulated starry night sky stretched as far as the eye could see. They were too far down to see the real sky.

The Amphitheatre was a grand arena where they used to pit captured raiders against monsters with impossible odds, and watch them fight to their doom. The Guild members even had VIP seats, while the rest was filled with golems mimicking a roaring crowd. Of course right now it was empty. Emptier than it should be. Where were the guardians?

As she was thinking that, a high-pitched yell came from the VIP seating. She could see a small form fly into the air, and come tumbling down before impacting the ground with a stylish landing. The figure stood up, and made a V for Victory sign while grinning wide. It was one of the dark elf twins that served as guardians for this floor: Aura Bella Fiora.

She raced over to Wulfy so quickly that it was hard to keep track of her.

"Wulfy-sama!" Aura called out energetically as she came to a stop at a respectful distance. "Welcome to the sixth floor that we guard." She put a hand on her chest and bowed slightly, but didn't break eye contact.

 _She's so cute_ , Wulfy thought. "Aura," Wulfy said with a slight nod. "I will be imposing on you for a while." She had some things to test out.

"What are you saying, Wulfy-sama? You are the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick. No one here would think of your presence as an imposition." Aura stated all of that with the utmost confidence and sincerity, which took Wulfy a little aback.

Though after the utter reverence that Albedo and Sebas showed, it was nice that Aura spoke with a slightly more casual tone. Being revered was definitely going to take a lot of getting used to.

Yet... "You said 'we'..." Wulfy commented while looking around. Aura's sibling was nowhere to be seen.

Aura seemed to realise the same, as she spun around before shouting: "Mare! Get down here! You're being rude to Wulfy-sama!"

A much more timid voice spoke up from where Aura had jumped down, as a blonde head poked up. "I-I can't, onee-chan." Though Mare was clearly not yelling, he could still be heard fairly well.

"Hurry up!" Aura practically hissed.

"I-I'll just take the stairs," Mare suggested timidly.

"Ma-re!!!" Aura sounded like she'd had enough, and even from this distance Wulfy could see Mare flinch.

"O-okay," Mare said, and leapt off. He landed, nearly lost his balance, but managed to not fall over. As soon as he was steady, he came running over. Far slower than his sister. "I-I'm sorry for making you wait, Wulfy-sama." Mare Bello Fiore, Aura's brother.

 _They're both really cute_ , Wulfy couldn't help thinking.

The two of them were dark elves, and twins. Looking maybe 10 years old, they were dressed in matching dragonscale armour, only Aura's was red, and Mare's green. On top of that they had white clothes, with Aura wearing a vest and trousers, and Mare having a a vest and a skirt. They were created by Bukubuku Chagama, who seemed to have particular tastes.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad to see you're doing well," Wulfy said, and without thinking about it reached out and patted Mare on the head. Mare's hair was really soft. When she noticed Aura was making a strange face, Wulfy thought: _Oh, I'm being unfair, aren't I?_ And reached out to pat Aura too, rather than stopping to pet Mare. Aura's hair was also nice and soft, but Mare's was perhaps just a little softer.

Neither of the twins objected, but Wulfy eventually realised this wasn't what she was supposed to be doing. She pulled her hands back, feeling a little sheepish. "Ah, um... I came today to have the two of you help me with a few things."

Aura's ears twitched. "Like what?"

"I'd like to do some training," Wulfy said quite simply, and the both of them went wide-eyed.

"Training? You?" Aura was the one to speak again.

"Indeed," Wulfy replied, and tapped the Staff against the ground.

Which drew the twins' attention to it. "I-is that the legendary item that only you can wield?" Mare asked excitedly.

 _Legendary?_ Wulfy thought, but out loud she said: "Indeed, this is the Staff of Ainz Woolfe Gown, the crowning achievement of all our Guild's hard work. Its power rivals anything the devs themselves created for Yggdrasil, with each gem being a god-level artefact holding at least one powerful special ability each, and even its auto-attack..." It slowly dawned on her that she had started rambling. _Why am I such a nerd?_ she had to ask herself, and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um... yeah... this is... it."

"Awesome!"

"That's so cool..."

The two of them seemed genuinely amazed, even though Wulfy thought she had just been a total dork. Could that be because of their absolute loyalty, or were children just easily impressed, she wondered. Though if it was really considered legendary among the NPCs, that could help explain the reaction.

"Anyway," Wulfy decided to steer the subject back on track. "I want you to set up some practice dummies for me. I need to test some things."

"C-can we watch?" Mare asked hopefully.

"Huh? Well... I suppose that's okay," Wulfy answered. Considering no one had seen this Staff in action yet, it made sense that they would want to do so. They both looked really pleased, but Wulfy remembered she had to say one more thing. "Oh, and Aura. I have called the guardians to assemble here. They will arrive within the hour."

Aura hesitated. "Huh? Even Shalltear?" she asked.

Wulfy regarded the sudden tone shift with curiosity. Was there some issue between Aura and Shalltear? "Even Shalltear," she answered quite simply.

Aura looked a bit downcast, but she still hopped to her task, and brought out some dragonkin to actually set up the dummies rather than doing it herself. At Wulfy's request, they set up a total of six dummies in a row, with ample space between them.

* * *

In Yggdrasil casting spells and skills were typically used via setting up hotbars with the ones you wanted to use, and actually hitting the icon for them. While you could have several hotbars mapped to easily swap between, mapping every spell you had was impossible. You could also use a cast command via the chat if there was something you couldn't find, or hadn't set up, that you suddenly wanted to cast, but since typing was slow, and the text-to-speech could be unreliable when it came to interpreting spell names, it was not used a lot. You had to prepare for the situation you were going into.

The total amount of spells and skills available in Yggdrasil was somewhere above 6000. Wulfy knew a little more than 500. Which was still well above the average for casters; somewhere around 300. As she didn't know how to look at her spellbook right now, she couldn't say the exact number. Hopefully she'd find some way to do so, as she had no hope of recalling all of them. She knew a lot by heart just from playing so long, but definitely not all.

Typically people picked werewolves to build a physical combat class from. They got boosts to strength and regeneration, and their stamina refilled quicker. There were of course downsides too: They had some speed disadvantages, especially compared to a lot of other werecreatures, though only slightly compared to humans. They were extra slowed down by rain and water, which the devs had claimed was because the fur got heavy when wet. And while not undead, they shared some of the same weaknesses, like extra damage from fire and silver weapons. But typically the bonuses favoured melee combat.

Wulfy hadn't cared much for optimal builds, she had gone in knowing two things: She wanted to be a werewolf, and she wanted to be a caster. So she had built a werewolf caster. She had specced into pyromancy as much as she was able, though there was still plenty of room to pick up other spells along with it. So while her main focus was fire, she had picked a lot of other elemental spells too, along with most of the common utility ones. There were even some druidic spells in there, mostly healing-related. She didn't have enough specced into that to support or heal a full party, but she had helped keep the healer alive at times when they didn't have time to focus on themselves.

Secretly she had a healer alt outside of the Guild, because she had wanted to try it, but it was probably not possible to switch characters any longer. Even if it was, she hadn't maxed out that one.

* * *

Right now the issue was how to cast spells with no UI. Like she had felt in the throne room, it was as if there was something lurking in the back of her mind. If she really thought about it, she could sense her HP and MP. If she focused on a spell it was like the range, cast time, area of effect, and cooldown all just came to her mind. Was she able to expand this awareness to sense her whole catalogue of spells? No, she would work on that later, and stick to spells she could actually remember for now. Maybe casting worked like the chat command, and she had to actually say the spell to conjure it? That was a hypothesis to work from at least, though it brought into question what a mispronunciation might cause. Maybe keeping the spell in mind mitigated that.

Okay, that was enough thinking, time for some doing. She'd start with something simple. One of the early fire spells she picked up: The tier 2 Fire Bolt. While at this point it was weak enough to be irrelevant, it was a simple single-target spell, and with her current level, gear, and the boost from the Staff, it should still pack a punch. Plus it held some nostalgic value.

She pointed the Staff towards the far left dummy, and felt a surge of power go through her as she said: "Fire Bolt." A small orb of flame assembled just in front of the Staff in an instant, and leapt at the dummy. The dummy was made of straw and wood, so the magical fire engulfed it in the blink of an eye, leaving only a charred cross that crumbled into ash.

Wulfy couldn't resist a small giggle. It had worked, and the rush of the magic summoning forth and surging out of her had felt good. Like a pleasant tickle. Time to kick it up a notch, then. Tier 5 Flare. Still single-target, but this one worked differently, so she was curious what it would look like here. Again she pointed the staff. "Flare." A small spot briefly appeared right above the dummy, and shot a lance of fire straight down into it. It disintegrated so completely there wasn't even the brief ashen cross left like last time.

Out of curiosity she glanced sideways at the twins, and while they seemed intrigued, they didn't exactly look blown away. Understandable, as they had likely seen much better than this before. Actually that brought up the thought of how they remembered their time as NPCs, but now was maybe not the time to ponder that.

It was time to test Area of Effect. A normal Fireball would do, but she wanted to look a little more impressive, so she went with the Greater Fireball, a Tier 7 spell. Spells were tiered 1-10, and while grinding she never used anything lower than 7, and even then only rarely lower than 8. Greater Fireball had a short enough cast that it was still useful for clearing out weaker groups and adds, but she had better AoEs for when she wanted to get serious. Still, it was good enough for this test.

She 'aimed' the Staff between two of the dummies, wanting to catch only those in the blast range. "Greater Fireball." The orb that formed was large, and white hot. It surged straight towards the targeted area, and lit up a blaze that devoured both dummies in a moment. She had the sensation she might be able to adjust the radius of it. That might be worth later testing, but she had one more thing she rather wanted to check today.

Her typical fighting style was not that of a support caster, but as an offensive one. She got pretty close to the action, and worked in tandem with the party members, or a summoned monster, to deliver powerful short and medium range spells to enemies. Some of them might even buff nearby party members as a secondary effect. So how would a short-range AoE work here?

She moved closer to the two remaining dummies. She already had a spell in mind: Tier 8 Dragon Breath. It was a conal AoE hitting targets in front of her, and one of her favourite spells. It didn't do the most damage of what was in her arsenal, and it had a 15 second cooldown, but it had a wide cone, a secondary effect of causing a few seconds of panic and disorientation in those it hit, and most importantly it looked awesome.

Stopping at what she could sense was within range of both dummies, she readied the Staff. "Dragon Breath." A translucent dragon head formed in front of her, and belched forth a wall of flame. The dummies were obliterated when they were hit, flaming straw scattering into the air in an impressive display.

She could hear sounds of appreciation coming from the sidelines, and allowed herself a smug smile. Even from this angle it had looked better than ever before.

She'd need to train more with different types of spells later, and she'd have to see if silent casting was possible, but they were starting to run out of time. There was one more thing she could try, though. While she had confirmed that the ring worked earlier, there was still the issue of other magic items. Which included the Staff. Sure it boosted her power, but whether or not she could access the special abilities in the gems was a different matter. Of course she picked the one most suited to her tastes to try out.

"Summon Primal Fire Elemental!" The feeling she got from this was different. Due to it being a cast from the Staff itself, it didn't tap directly into _her_ power. The Staff thrummed with its own energy, and in front of her, perhaps a little too close for comfort, an inferno of flames started spiralling forth. It turned into a tornado, and the heat coming from it was intense. The dragonkin had moved to shield Aura and Mare, while Wulfy just stood there watching. Her many levels into pyromancy had mostly compensated for her weakness to the point where she was nigh impervious to flames. But because of her inherent weakness, it was impossible to make her resistance total. Her gear and magic shield made up the rest of the difference.

Soon enough a roaring giant of molten flame towered above them all. The Primal elementals were among the strongest summoned monsters, their levels being somewhere in the late 80s, and without something like the gem in the Staff as a medium, it was not possible to summon by players. Even the gem could only produce one per day. In her mind she could feel a peculiar link to the creature, and she instinctively knew she could command it via that link.

It looked really big this close up.

* * *

Wulfy headed over to Aura and Mare who were both watching the giant with expressions of amazement. It really wasn't fair that Chagama had made them so cute. "Do you want to fight it?" she asked.

Their reactions couldn't be more opposite. Where they had both been in awe, for Aura it turned into excitement, while Mare practically shrunk away. "We can?!" Aura asked with a huge grin, and Wulfy nodded at her.

"Um... I just remembered there's something I-" Mare tried to say as he started slinking away, but Aura grabbed him by the collar.

"Come on, Mare!" she announced, not letting her brother get away from this.

Once they were in position, Wulfy took a seat, and ordered the elemental to attack them. As timid as Mare seemed, he didn't hesitate when combat started. While his sister charged in, using her speed and agility to leap close, and flex her whips about; Mare stayed back, and supported his sister with buffs and defensive spells that easily countered anything the elemental tried to do. Even throwing in a few debuffs and offensive spells at the elemental when an opening showed itself. In fact it seemed like Aura trusted Mare so completely that she performed moves that seemed reckless because she knew she had the backup to get away with it. Even her dabbling as a healer/support had taught Wulfy how stressful that could be, yet Mare appeared to pull it off without a hitch. Simply marvellous.

As expected the two of them weren't having any real difficulty with this fight, so Wulfy let herself relax.

Now that she had proven that magic still worked, she should try contacting someone. The skill Message would let her reach out to anyone she knew. If they were still in the game somehow, she might even be able to contact a GM. She wasn't sure what that would accomplish at this point, but reaching another human was an enticing thought. Though immediately upon casting it, she could tell it felt odd. She was trying to reach specific people: like focusing on contacting a GM, or thinking about her various friends from the Guild. With every cast she could tell the spell was probing, searching, but not finding. A very odd sensation. Then she tried...

"What is it, Wulfy-sama?" A gruff, but courteous voice suddenly replied. The spell had connected, but not to a GM, or another player.

"Sebas?" It was undoubtedly him. Not only did the voice match, but it was like the spell was telling her who she was connected to. So it could be used to contact the NPCs... Learning that the spell worked was both encouraging and discouraging. Was she truly alone? "What does it look like out there?" she asked, hoping she didn't hesitate too much.

"Grassy plains as far as the eye can see. I've found no sign of intelligent life in the vicinity," Sebas reported.

Wulfy blinked in surprise. "A grassy plain? No swamp, no bogs?"

"No, only a grassy plain," Sebas confirmed.

Very curious. So while the whole of Nazarick may have been moved (she still needed confirmation that nothing was missing), none of the surrounding area had been. Very curious indeed. "Can you see any distinguishing features, landmarks, or anything in the sky?"

"None of the sort. The plain appears entirely flat and empty, and all I see above is a night sky similar to the one on the sixth floor," Sebas said. "Otherwise the only landmark is the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

 _A night sky?_ So it was currently night, then. "I see..." she said, honestly not sure what to make of this. She checked the watch on her left hand. "Return in 15 minutes. I've told the Guardians to assemble in the Amphitheatre at that time, and I want you to deliver your report at that time. See what else you can find out before that time."

"Understood, Wulfy-sama," Sebas replied, and Wulfy cut the connection. More mysteries.

* * *

She kept half an eye on the fierce battle while considering the next thing on her mind. Did she still have her inventory? And how would she go about accessing it? Since using items seemed to work, having access to all the rest of the stuff she had hoarded would be helpful. Wulfy was not the kind of the player to throw anything away, she'd rather get bigger bags. So her inventory was absolutely loaded with items all the way back from when she first started playing. She didn't like using any of them either, if she could help it. Especially not things she couldn't easily replenish. But depending on the state of this world, she might have need of them. There was no telling what might be in store.

So she reached out similarly to how she had in the game, imagining the icon she had used so many times. Something like a dimensional pocket appeared, and there it all was. It all looked more neatly arranged than she remember it being in the game, and it was like she could just pluck whatever she wanted in an instant without scrolling to find it. But there was also the option of looking through it to see what she had, like she was currently inspecting her collection of magical wands.

It was a relief that she had all of these resources at hand, but she needed to be careful with it. She was used to just using the highest level items she had when she knew she could just get more. If she needed to use anything now, she should try to gauge just how powerful it needed to be, and only use accordingly. Save the most powerful stuff as much as possible.

With that settled, she pulled back, and the pocked vanished. She started thinking about what she knew (not a lot), and what the big issues would be going forward.

 _Have the NPCs really come to life?_ Yes, there was little doubt of that. Her interaction with Aura and Mare had especially solidified that. They were clearly beings with their own consciousness now, as scary as that was to think about. They were probably equivalent to any other person, based on Wulfy's own experience back home.

 _Where have we ended up?_ It was honestly too early to answer that. Yggdrasil's magic, and some of its other systems, worked here, so if it was not in the game, then it had to be somehow connected to the game, yes? Though certain things were definitely different. But how the hell they had ended up here was another matter. Game worlds didn't just suddenly come real, nor were people transported from game worlds to other worlds. At least she would have taken that much for granted yesterday.

 _How should I conduct myself?_ The former NPCs clearly seemed loyal to her, and if everything was as it had been in Yggdrasil, that loyalty should be absolute. But now that they were living, thinking beings, how should she maintain it? Since Aura had called her the 'Supreme Ruler of Nazarick', that might be worth taking to heart. In times of crisis, most people would look to a leader to reassure them. She might have to be that leader. But was she up to the task? What was a ruler like?

 _What do we do now?_ Gathering information was the obvious option. They knew nothing, and that was not a position they could work from. If she truly wanted to survive in this world, she had to figure out the rules it ran on, how to exploit them for her own good, and for the good of the others here. But since they knew nothing, the risk of missteps was large. They'd have to tread carefully, and gradually learn what they could about the lands nearby, and the people inhabiting them. As frustrating as it may be, caution was the operative word. While she had been max level in Yggdrasil, there was no telling how that compared to the people in this world.

 _If this is indeed a different world, do I try to get back home?_ One might think the answer would be an unreserved yes, but Wulfy felt a hint of hesitation. Her family would be worried, and so would her handful of friends. But her illness had reduced her to so much less than she had been. At times it felt like she was simply trying to last as long as possible before calling it quits. At the very least she didn't want her parents to outlive her. Here she might have a bigger purpose, and a better body. Even her mind felt altered, perhaps stronger. But if she should happen to learn how they ended up here, and how to get back, she should probably at least attempt it. Assuming it was even possible. Ultimately it felt like her biggest regret was not being able to let anyone know she was leaving before it happened.

 _Are there others from Yggdrasil here?_ This felt like perhaps the biggest question. Logically it would be strange if she had been the only one of the millions of active players to have stayed until the servers shut down. There might be dozens, or hundreds, or thousands. Would they have also been transported here? Or to yet another different world? Or did everyone else just get logged out like normal? What if she had too, and the her in here was just a copy, while the actual her was in the normal world, suspecting nothing. No, if she thought too much about that, it might lead to madness. Regardless, _she_ was here. And maybe others were too, so she should make attempts at finding them. Unfortunately she hadn't been able to contact anyone she knew. The thought that she might truly be all alone was weighing heavily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I started taking more liberties with how things worked. The way I'm imagining the magic system here is not exactly how it's described in the book/show, but it's mostly the same.  
> We've also very much entered wall-of-text area for now. There was a lot I wanted to establish before getting the story itself flowing. And I also just like describing spell effects and such things. And I like cuties.


	4. New People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Facing the now sentient guardians was a strange sensation. It was as if they were freshly born, or perhaps reborn, and Wulfy was seeing them in a new light. Perhaps how they had always meant to be.

* * *

A disturbance in the link to the elemental snapped her out of it. She turned her attention back to the battle to see Aura strike the final blow, and the Primal elemental imploding and fading into nothing. She felt a little guilty that she had gotten distracted towards the end there, but the parts she _had_ seen had been great.

She got up as the twins came back over towards her. "Phew! Been a while since I've had such a workout," Aura said, and wiped sweat from her brow. "Thank you, Wulfy-sama!"

"Don't mention it," Wulfy said warmly. "Watching the two of you was a joy. The way you work together is truly brilliant." She meant that sincerely.

"T-thank you, Wulfy-sama," Mare said while beaming happily. They both seemed overjoyed by the praise to the point where it felt a little awkward for Wulfy.

Though she also noticed that the sweat they wiped quickly got replaced with more beads. "You must be thirsty," she said, and reached into her inventory for the Bottomless Pitcher of Water. It had stopped being useful for her personally in-game, as other beverages actually gave her buffs when she drank them, but it was still handy for her mounts. Speaking of, what had happened to those... Regardless, she also fished two glasses out, and filled them up. "Here, drink this," she said, and offered them the water.

"F-from you?" Mare said, sounding slightly shocked.

"No, we couldn't possibly..." Aura said, similarly shocked.

"It's just water," Wulfy said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "You worked hard, so let me dote on you a little." They were like her children, or at least her friend's children, so she wanted to take good care of them.

The two of them carefully accepted the glasses. "I can't believe you're pouring drinks for us," Mare sounded amazed. Aura took the glass in both hands, and immediately chugged the water with gusto. Mare was drinking more slowly, holding the glass with just one hand.

 _Aw, they look so happy_ , Wulfy thought. "Would you like some more?" she asked when they were both done.

"Nope, I'm good!" Aura declared, though Wulfy wasn't sure if that was really enough, or if she just didn't want to cause more of a bother.

"I-I'm also good, "Mare said with a smile. "You know, I-I thought you would be scarier, Wulfy-sama." Aura nodded her agreement.

Wulfy smirked. "Do you want me to be scarier?" she asked. That was probably not beyond her abilities.

"No, we like you like this!" Aura said quickly, with Mare nodding fervently.

"Then I'll stay like this," Wulfy said with a chuckle. She couldn't stop thinking about how cute they were, and patted them on the head again. Of all the things she had to get used to, this seemed like one of the easier ones.

* * *

"Oh? Am I the first to arrive?" A feminine voice spoke up behind Wulfy, and she turned to look. Out of an ink-black semi-circle rising from the ground, a young figure stepped through. She was dressed in a black and dark purple ball gown that looked nice and soft, covered in frills and lace, with a matching hood, and a dark parasol. Only her exquisitely pale beautiful face and hands showed of her skin. Though that beauty looked to be about 14 years old. It was a style you could accurately describe as goth loli, which made sense considering who had created her. She was almost like a doll.

Shalltear Bloodfallen, guardian of the first, second and third floors, created by Peroroncino, was a True Vampire. Beautiful to look at, and extremely deadly. While all the guardians were level 100, the way Peroroncino had specced her made her quite possibly the strongest of all the guardians, in the right circumstances. She even outclassed Albedo in several ways, but she had some significant weaknesses to allow her to wield that strength. Her creator was a bit of a min-maxer.

"What's with the gate?" An icy voice said next to Wulfy, and she looked down at a noticeably hostile Aura. "Teleportation is restricted in Nazarick, so clearly you entered the floor normally, you show-off."

Shalltear ignored Aura, and focused her attention on Wulfy instead. "Ah, my Lord!" she exclaimed, and cast herself at Wulfy, embracing her. "The only woman I recognise as above me! You are lovely as always!"

Wulfy wasn't sure how to react. Was this how Peroroncino intended for her to be? Well, she liked hugs, but it felt like Shalltear might be going for a different angle. Which felt a little wrong, considering how she looked, and what their roles were.

"Give it a rest, Shalltear," Aura said. "No one wants that sort of attention from you."

Shalltear slowly let go, and turned to give Aura a withering look. "Oh my, I didn't see you there, shorty."

"Oh really, you rotting husk? Have your eyes started to decompose?" Aura retorted with a venomous tongue.

Shalltear narrowed her eyes, then looked at Mare. "Oh, poor Mare. It must be hard, having such an awful sister," she said sweetly. Mare just glanced at his sister, and smartly didn't say anything.

Aura ignored that remark, and instead went for a weak point. "I see you've padded a little extra today. Is that why you had to use a gate?"

"Wha-" Shalltear stormed over to Aura, and the two of them started bickering frantically while poor Mare backed away from the both of them.

 _Ah, they're just like Peroroncino-san and Chagama-san_ , Wulfy thought. Those two were siblings, and they used to bicker much like this. Had they made Shalltear and Aura deliberately like this with that in mind? It was so nostalgic that she nearly didn't want to tell them to stop.

"WHAT A RACKET!" A booming voice called out, as a large form came walking towards them. Shaped like a large, icy blue, bipedal insectoid, Cocytus was the guardian of the fifth floor. He was a weapons master, and a warrior in both personality and design. In terms of raw attack power his was the highest in Nazarick, and his skills and abilities were ice-themed. Excellent in terms of both crowd control and one-on-one combat, he could also wield a weapon in each of his four hands should the situation call for it. He usually carried a massive halberd as his standard weapon, as he was doing right now.

"YOU ARE PLAYING AROUND TOO MUCH IN FRONT OF A SUPREME BEING," Cocytus declared, and smacked the butt of his halberd against the ground as Wulfy would with her Staff.

 _Supreme being?_ Wulfy mused. _Is that how they refer to me?_

Aura and Shalltear both shot annoyed looks at Cocytus.

"She was the one who-"

"No, she started-"

"Aura, Shalltear. That's enough," Wulfy said, figuring it was best to set her sentimentality aside for now. They had to get this started soon.

The both of them immediately stopped, and bowed to Wulfy. "My apologies, Wulfy-sama," they said in near perfect harmony. Wulfy was both impressed, and a little taken aback at how quickly they obeyed.

"So you've come, Cocytus," Wulfy said, turning her attention to the large warrior.

"I SHALL ALWAYS RESPOND IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR SUMMONS, MASTER," Cocytus declared in his grand way of speaking.

Wulfy nodded. "As you should," she said, figuring it was time to slip into the ruler role. Everyone seemed like they were arriving. Yet she still added. "It's appreciated."

"YOUR APPRECIATION IS ALL THE REWARD I COULD DESIRE," he said, and seemed totally serious about it too. This was really going to take some getting used to.

"My apologies for making you all wait," said a voice coming from a different direction.

Wulfy turned, and saw Demiurge arriving right behind Albedo. So she had gone to pick him up last.

Demiurge was the guardian of the seventh floor, and while at first glance he appeared like a shrewd business man with striking features; in his red, striped suit, and red tie; it didn't take more than a second look to realise he was more. His ears were long and pointy, similar to the dark elves, his fangs showed every time he spoke, and he wore a peculiar set of glasses that hid his obviously non-human eyes. But most telling was the spike-covered silver tail he made no effort to hide behind him. He was a demon, and a brilliant tactician, who was in charge of NPC defence operations.

"Good to see you, Demiurge," Wulfy said. "That is everyone, then."

"We seem to be still missing two, Wulfy-sama," Demiurge commented as he found a spot to stand in along the line-up they were creating.

He was correct, as Gargantua of the fourth floor, and Victim of the eighth floor, were not here, but that was intentional. "They have been given different priorities, and their presence here is not required." Gargantua was a bit big to show up for an assembly anyway; he was aptly named. And the eighth floor as a whole was almost like a curious anomaly that was best to not disturb unless absolutely necessary. Everyone accepted her words without question.

* * *

When they were properly lined up in front of Wulfy, Albedo stepped out ahead of them. After a moment's silence, she spoke: "Now we shall perform the ritual of fidelity for our supreme leader."

Wulfy felt like that was maybe a bit much, but wasn't able to figure out whether she should tell them not to before they got started.

"Guardian of first, second, and third floors: Shalltear Bloodfallen. I bow before you, o Supreme One," Shalltear said, and dropped to one knee with a hand on her chest, and head bowed.

"GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH FLOOR, COCYTUS. I BOW BEFORE YOU, O SUPREME ONE," Cocytus repeated the same pledge, and adopted the same stance.

The twins were next. "Guardian of the sixth floor, Aura Bella Fiora. I bow before you, o Supreme One."

"G-Guardian of the same, Mare Bello Fiore. I bow before you, o Supreme One."

"Guardian of the seventh floor, Demiurge. I bow before you, o Supreme One."

"Captain of the floor guardians, Albedo. I bow before you, o Supreme One."

With all of them bowing before her like that, Wulfy wasn't sure what to say. Even by the standard of everything going on right now, this was a bit much to take in. _Act like a ruler_ , she had told herself, but what did that actually mean? Had she ever read or watched anything that might give her insight into this? Well, if she was going to address them, she'd prefer they actually looked at her.

"Raise your heads," she told them, and the synchronicity with which they did so startled her enough to reflexively activate some defensive skills, like her fiery aura. It appeared as if wings of flame sprouted from her back, and a wave of oppressive heat spread out. _Ah, crap, why did I do that?_ Well, now she had to pretend she meant to do that. _Don't panic_ , she told herself, even if it was a little late for that. She tapped the Staff audibly against the ground. "I'm grateful to you all for gathering here," she stated.

"Your gratitude is unnecessary, Wulfy-sama," Albedo replied. "We have all pledged ourselves to you. Even if you find us lacking, we are determined to work hard to live up to your expectations, and those of the supreme beings who created us."

"Such is our vow," the rest of them said in concert. Their sincerity was a little disconcerting.

Wulfy had to wonder if they had practised this, but considering they were only programs until today, she didn't know when they would have had the time to do so. Actually she wasn't sure how they had perceived their time as NPCs, but that was a matter for another time.

She regarded them for a moment, before a smile graced her lips. "Wonderful. You're all wonderful. I have no doubts that you will be able to fulfil your duties without fail." _So this is what my friends intended for them all to be like?_ Unnerving though it might be, it was also a bit relieving to hear them so devoted to her. She would definitely need their help if they were going to sort out this crisis. "Now to the matter at hand..."

Their faces who had all lit up at her praise, suddenly turned serious again.

"The Great Tomb of Nazarick has been caught up in an unknown situation. It is unclear how it has happened, but it appears the entirety of Nazarick has been teleported to a different location." Probably a different world, but that was still not entirely confirmed. "I have already sent Sebas outside to investigate." All of their expressions changed to display slight shock upon hearing that. "But while we wait for him to arrive, I would like to hear whether any of you saw any signs that this would happen, or of it happening."

The guardians looked to each other, and one by one they all shook their heads. "Our apologies, Wulfy-sama, but we did not," Albedo answered for all of them.

Maybe that was a bit much to hope for. "Well, have any of you noticed anything strange happening on your floors lately, or has anything seemed unusual in the past hour?" Wulfy asked next.

Again they all shook their heads. So it would appear that on the inside, nothing had changed for Nazarick. At least as far as they knew. Just then she spotted Sebas standing to the side, waiting to be summoned forth. She wasn't sure when he had arrived, but she nodded her recognition to him. He bowed, and stepped forward to deliver his report.

As he had said over the Message call, Nazarick now found itself in the middle of a vast grassy plain. No sign of the swamp they were previously in, and actually no sign of anything. Within a kilometre's radius of the Tomb he had not seen a single building, person, or monster. Only small, harmless animals. Nor were there any signs of man-made lights in the sky, or any floating structures, or flying machines. They had just been dropped into the middle of nowhere with no explanation.

"With all of the unknowns facing us here, I am declaring this an emergency," Wulfy said firmly. "Raise the alert level by one on each floor. Any intruders are to be captured alive, and you are to inform me at once should that happen. Speaking of... Albedo."

"Yes, my Lord," she answered promptly.

"How does the current security information sharing happen between the guardians?" Wulfy asked. She had realised she knew very little of how the Tomb actually operated.

"Demiurge oversees the information sharing system as part of his role as Defence Coordinator, but generally the security of each floor is left up to the respective guardian," was Albedo's response.

 _That's interesting_ , Wulfy thought. Considering that about an hour ago they had still been in the game world, she wasn't sure whether anything had been in place at all. "Excellent, but I would like you both to work towards improving that system. We will need to keep each other up to date as much as possible, if we are to have any hope of figuring out what is going on."

"Yes, my Lord," both Albedo and Demiurge said.

"Now, does anyone have any ideas for whether we could hide the Great Tomb of Nazarick? Just thinking about how much energy using illusions would take makes my head ache. Mare?" Wulfy singled out the boy.

"W-well... as you say it would be difficult using only magic," Mare agreed. "B-but if we covered the walls with dirt and vegetation, we could disguise it."

"You propose to sully the walls of the Great Tomb of Nazarick with dirt?" Albedo cut in. Her voice was pleasant enough, but the underlying tone was one of clear displeasure. And it looked like the other guardians were in agreement.

However, they didn't have time to care about such luxuries. "Stand down, Albedo," Wulfy said. "This is an emergency, after all."

"Ah, my apologies, Wulfy-sama," she said immediately, and bowed her head deeply.

Wulfy got a slight feeling of having just kicked a puppy, but she had to take charge. Right? "Are you able to disguise Nazarick in that way, Mare?"

"I d-don't think it should be too much work... s-so long as you're okay with it, Wulfy-sama," Mare said. Perhaps he also had some reservations after what Albedo had said.

But there was one more issue. "Sebas, how was the terrain? Are there any hills around here?" Wulfy asked just to make sure.

"No, my Lord. It's all extremely flat," Sebas confirmed.

Wulfy had been afraid of that. Having just a single hill in the middle of this plain would still stand out. "Aura, Mare. Work together to disguise Nazarick, and also raise several other hills nearby. We need to do our best to blend in."

"As you wish, Wulfy-sama," the twins said.

Wulfy addressed all of them again. "I leave it up to each of you to brief your domain guardians on these events, and I would like you to instruct them to search the floors to look for anything out of the ordinary. If they find anything, anything at all, I want to be informed immediately," she stated.

"Yes, my Lord," they all voiced their understanding.

"Sebas, tell the Pleiades to search the ninth and tenth floors," Wulfy said, and he acknowledged that order. Then to Albedo she said: "And I am declaring the eighth level off-limits. Make sure it's possible to travel directly between the seventh and ninth floors."

Her eyes went wide, but she didn't question the order.

"Does anyone want to bring up anything before we end the assembly?" Wulfy asked. But none of the guardians so much as moved. "Very well. You have your tasks. Get to it." With that final order, she activated the ring, and teleported away to just outside her chambers.

* * *

As soon as she was on her own, she turned off her aura, and sagged a little. That had been exhausting. She had never been a leader, and never wanted to be one. Acting like one took a lot out of her, especially with how much they all seemed to expect of her. Yet it seemed to come somewhat naturally when she was in the thick of it. Maybe her persona had merged with her regular self to an extent. The character she roleplayed was always a lot more confident than she had felt in real life. So maybe that had become part of her now. It still left her really tired, though.

On the upside it was interesting to see how the guardians all acted now. Was this what her friends had intended for them to be all along? She could see shades of their creators in all of them, and that made her feel a little less lonely. But they weren't her friends, they were her underlings. And they seemed to have very high opinions of her. She wasn't sure if she could live up to that.

Right now she just needed to get some rest. This body may have more stamina than her old one, but a lot was happening right now, and her mental fatigue was settling in. She'd just lie down for a little bit, and then get back to work.

* * *

Hazy, dark images gave way to blurry eyesight as she slowly tried to figure out what was going on. Had she overslept? What time was it? That appointment was pretty early, after all. But she couldn't see her phone on the nightstand. Hang on, was that even her nightstand? She didn't recognise this room... no, wait. It was all coming back to her.

As her grand bedchamber in the Great Tomb of Nazarick came more clearly into view, she remembered everything that had happened... earlier? Yesterday? She hadn't meant to fall asleep, so she had no idea how long she'd been here. That was a misstep.

She could check her watch, but first there was a different issue. It was dawning on her that something soft was pressed against her back. And there was an arm around her. And looking down she could also see a wing draped over her thigh. Not to mention that familiar scent.

"Albedo?" she asked carefully, trying to remember if she had brought the demon to bed with her. Surely she wouldn't forget something like that.

"Yes, Wulfy-sama?" came the reply behind her. That was definitely Albedo's voice, and she could feel her breath tickling her fur.

"Why are you in my bed?" Wulfy had to ask, not really sure what else to say.

"I came to make a report, and found you sleeping. But you seemed to be having disturbing dreams, so I got in with you to hopefully help you relax. I think it worked." Albedo sounded very proud of herself.

"I see. I'm sorry you had to see me like that," Wulfy said, feeling embarrassed. She could vaguely remember there being nightmares that had eventually faded. But this had definitely been a misstep. What if Albedo's opinion of her had gone down because of this?

"Do not concern yourself with that, Wulfy-sama," Albedo said kindly. "I'm just glad I was able to help you out." She sounded like she honestly meant that.

Though there was yet another thing. "By the way... are you naked?" Wulfy really had to ask because it felt that way, and she didn't want to be surprised when she sat up. She was exceptionally weak to pretty girls.

"Yes, Wulfy-sama," Albedo said quite simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?"

"I saw that you had undressed yourself, so I thought it best to follow suit," Albedo explained, though Wulfy wasn't sure if she believed that was the whole truth.

But it was true that she had stripped down herself. She was used to sleeping in the nude, and had likely done so out of habit. Even though she hadn't planned to fall asleep. Had she? She had been exceptionally tired...

"I see. I would like to get up now," Wulfy said, trying to stay calm, and not think too much about there being a naked woman right behind her.

"Of course, Wulfy-sama," Albedo said.

The arm and wing were retracted, and Wulfy could feel Albedo roll away. It hit her how big this bed was. Sure, this form was bigger than a human's, but not so big that it needed a bed this size. A ruler's privilege, perhaps. She pushed herself up, and marvelled for a moment at how awake she felt, considering how little of a morning person she was normally.

Then came the inevitable glance at Albedo. The demon was very nude, and had a very pretty smile. Wulfy felt very weak all of a sudden, and hoped that blushing wasn't visible on a furry face. But she quickly chided herself. Albedo was basically Tabula's child, not to mention her utter devotion and loyalty to Wulfy. There was no way she could take advantage of that. But they hadn't actually done anything. It had just been some light cuddling. That wasn't so bad, right? Though that reminded her of what she had done... _I'm so sorry, Tabula-san!_

Wulfy got out of bed, and stretched. She was determined to stay calm about all of this. Now where were her clothes? Or rather, her gear. Ah. They were all arranged neatly on a table. She didn't think she had put them there herself, so either one of the maids had dropped by, or Albedo had picked them up. She walked over, and started putting them on. This was trickier than what she was used to.

"You mentioned a report?" Wulfy brought up while she was halfway through.

"Ah, yes." Albedo got out of bed too. "The domain guardians have been briefed, but neither they nor the Pleiades could find anything out of the ordinary on any of the floors. Excepting the eighth floor, where you told us not to go."

Wulfy pulled the robe down over her head. Now that she had had it off, it was amazing how heavy it felt putting it back on, yet it strangely didn't feel impeding. "Good. Good work," she said. Honestly she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed that everything was as it should be. On the one hand it meant one less thing to worry about, but on the other hand that meant no extra clues about what had happened.

She turned around, and found Albedo standing there, still very nude. Had she no sense of modesty? "Albedo. Get dressed before we continue."

"At once, Wulfy-sama," Albedo said, and quickly hopped to it.

Wulfy foresaw several long days ahead of them for the foreseeable future, and no end of unexpected things to deal with. A naked demon in her bedroom was probably not going to rank very high on the list for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aside from the bit at the end, this part isn't changed too much from the book/show.  
> And look, just because I did a different change for Albedo, doesn't mean I'm in any way immune to her charms. It was always my intention to have my character take advantage of the hugs and cuddles setting, even if it was originally meant to be goofier and more lighthearted than it turned out.  
> Pretty demon girls are very alluring.


	5. New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spending the day learning more about Nazarick and its denizens, Wulfy heads outside to take a look at the new world they found themselves in.

* * *

The day passed surprisingly quickly. Most of it was spent seeing to their defences. Before they went out anywhere, Wulfy wanted to make sure that Nazarick was as secure as possible. If anyone owned this land, Nazarick's sudden appearance might be viewed as an act of hostility, and who knows what sort of trouble that could invite.

Though she had a secondary goal with overseeing the efforts. The fact remained that she was not a leader, and more importantly knew nothing of how things actually worked in this place. Going around, and casually asking questions while doing so, was a way for her to pick up some information.

Demiurge's efforts were outstanding, at least as far as Wulfy could tell. He had a good grasp of what the strengths and weaknesses of most of the domain guardians and minions were, and several suggestions for where it would be best to put them. They had discussed that old strategies might simply be outdated now, as this was no longer a game, and they didn't want intruders to get very far at all. So Demiurge and Shalltear were coordinating on strengthening the upper floors.

Aura and Mare had headed out, and were setting up the false hills around the Great Tomb first. Wulfy had given the order, so that they would get some practice manipulating the earth before working on Nazarick itself.

As for the rest of the guardians, all Wulfy really knew was that they were attending to their own tasks. She had given them mostly vague orders after all, and hoped... maybe even believed that they would know better how to carry them out than she could. Micro-managing too much would just be a hindrance here. Once she understood it all a bit better, she could get more involved if needed.

Wulfy also had time to test some things. With the Staff in hand, her authority of the place should be absolute. Which should extend to functions outside of just commanding the NPCs. She would have to make a list as she went along, and thought of more things, but for now she tested what she could. Seeing if anything would unlock any special functions for her, and whether she could recognise if they did.

While she could freely access any door, and controls for any traps, her search for any hidden features turned up naught. Perhaps there was nothing, or it was quite simply that she did not know what to look for.

After feeling like she had extended herself enough for now, she left everything in the capable hands of the floor guardians. They certainly seemed to know more about what they were doing than she did. It had been an educational experience, though.

* * *

Her next destination was the throne room. For several reasons, really. It was where she had been when the incident had occurred, so maybe there were some clues there somewhere from when she changed from a digital avatar to a... real being. And perhaps there were some hidden features in here. If there was anything to access, it would make sense that it would be either here, or in the round-table room.

She ended up teleporting there, leaving her guards behind, though she was courteous enough to let them know where she was going. The throne room was already heavily guarded, so they could catch up if they wanted to.

On the first case she struck out. There weren't any traces to find here any more than she had found elsewhere in the Great Tomb. If the teleportation had happened by magic, it was one that she had not felt, and that had left no trace. Yggdrasil hadn't been set up for you to find traces of magic used anyway, but if this was no longer Yggdrasil, she had thought... hoped... that maybe things would work differently. Unfortunately it was hard to confirm whether it was impossible to find traces at all, or if this magic in particular was untraceable. It just made sense to her that something of this scale could be sensed somehow, but she might have to discard that idea.

Poking around the throne with the Staff did produce some results, however. A console! Not like the one she'd had in the game, but similar in design. It seemed to only contain information on the NPCs, though. She could see their current status, whether they had any afflictions or special effects, and where in the Great Tomb they currently were. Interestingly she could not see the exact location of Aura and Mare. It only registered them as 'Outside'.

She tested whether or not she could access it without the Staff, and now that she knew the trick, it was simple. It might be worthwhile to teach Albedo about this.

But how deep did it go? How much information was in here? And could it only be accessed from the throne? All valid questions, but first she had some studying to do. While the minions were not listed, all the floor guardians and domain guardians were, along with everyone else directly created by someone from the Guild. Using the Staff allowed her to access even more, like unlocking a tab that listed the Guild Members. Her heart sunk when she saw she was the only one active on the list. But that could just be because they were out of range, or because they had officially quit. There could be several reasons for it.

It was strange reading her own information, though. She could see the levels she had taken, the abilities she had, and there was even her book of spells. For a moment she pondered how it would work to gain extra levels, abilities, and spells in this world. Levelling up in the game had been a simple affair, but what about gaining strength here? Was she capped, like she had been in the game? Could she gain more? Could the others? There were plenty of NPCs that were not max level, like the Pleiades. Was it possible to level them up, somehow? That might be worth investigating eventually, but there was already so much on the list.

The priority right now was learning. She didn't know the NPCs well enough. Outside of the one she created herself, she only had a decent grasp of what they did, at best. She knew the floor guardians, and she knew in general terms what their strengths and weaknesses were, and what abilities they had. But here she could see it all. She reached into her inventory, and fetched and notebook, and a magic quill. Taking notes would help her remember better, so she got to work.

* * * 

Once her brain felt full, she called it a night, and returned to her room. Everything she'd read needed to be digested before she got started with more.

It was pretty late according to her watch. It was actually a magic armband created by Chagama, but since it told the time it was easiest to think of it as a watch. Though it had other functions as well. But she didn't quite feel like sleeping yet. She was too restless. Instead she ended up in her dressing room.

Though perhaps 'messy room' was a better description for it. Since the inventory was based on weight rather than the amount of items, it made sense to dump the heaviest stuff she didn't use elsewhere. And that's what the dressing room had been for. So it was full of old robes, armour she had realised she couldn't use, all sorts of weapons, vanity items she didn't want to throw away, and souvenirs from events long past. You could probably outfit at least one adventuring party with everything in here.

An idea struck her. In the game she had never taken any levels not in the Magic Caster category. She had nothing for Warriors, Rangers, Assassins, or anything of the sort. All magic, no physical. Still, at level 100 even her dump stats were pretty high. She had enough strength to bludgeon weaker monsters to death with a staff. So holding a sword shouldn't be a problem.

She had a pile of various weapons she had picked up and decided to keep for some reason or another, and she picked a greatsword from the cluster. It certainly didn't feel heavy, and she could wave it about easily enough. But as soon as she tried to enter something resembling a combat stance, the sword fell from her grasp. Not like she had just dropped it, but like it had actively repelled itself from her. A frown appeared on her face.

Everything pointed to this no longer being the game, so logically you would think she would be able to use any equipment she wanted. Yet it seemed like the rule about not being able to use any items she wasn't qualified for still stood.

The maid in the room picked up the sword and offered it back to Wulfy, but the ruler found herself staring at the mirror instead. Was that really her? Was that what she was now? A large beast woman, a werewolf. Her stamina was much better than it had been in real life, and she could tell that she was stronger. She was certain her eyesight and sense of smell had gotten better too. Whether the same was true for hearing she didn't know yet. Touch felt about the same, maybe better, but certainly not worse. And her teeth looked wicked sharp.

She would have expected to feel some sort of dysphoria, some discomfort, but for some reason this body felt like her correct one. It didn't seem like that could be explained just by how long she had played the game.

It was more likely that she had been changed mentally as well when the incident occurred. Her mind certainly felt a little different. It was sharper, or at least she thought so. And she was managing to stay remarkably calm considering everything going on. Not that her emotions were in any way gone, but it was more like she had a stronger temper. Yet there had been that moment in the throne room where the stress had felt close to crushing her, and she had asked Albedo for a hug. And she had been so tired last night that she had abandoned all sense, and fallen asleep without meaning to. So she should still be careful about pushing herself too far.

Unfortunately they didn't have the luxury of taking things too easy.

There was something she could try though. "Create Greater Item," she intoned, and a suit of full plate armour encased her. It was heavy, but far from impossible to move in, and it wasn't repelling her. So items created by magic could still be equipped. That had been the same in Yggdrasil. The armour she had created was raven black with ruby accents, and no openings apart from the slit for the eyes. Yet her vision wasn't as limited as she had expected.

She still felt quite restless though. Some fresh air could be good, and she wanted to see what it was like to move around in this. "I am going outside for a bit," she told the maid, who was still holding the sword.

"Your guards are ready," the maid replied.

Wulfy sighed inwardly. She wasn't sure she had the energy for that right now. She just wanted to stretch for a bit, not walk around with a full entourage. "I meant alone," she stated. Maybe it was childish of her, but she felt a little grumpy.

"Please wait, Wulfy-sama! If something was to happen to you, we would not be able to die as your shields," the maid said more intently than Wulfy had expected.

It made her feel a little bad about trying to ditch someone who felt so strongly about this. But she needed to get some of this restless energy out before going to bed, or she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly. It had been a long day, and she just wanted a small break, alone. Maybe a short jog. To get a bit of a look at the land they'd ended up in. But how could she say that in a way the maid would accept?

"There is something I have to do on my own, and it requires secrecy," she said. And as if to ease the maid's anxiety, she added: "I promise I shall retreat immediately should any danger present itself." Honestly she wasn't even planning to leave the walls. She just wanted to get up on the ground floor to feel the fresh air.

The silence before the maid replied got a little uncomfortable. "Very well. Be careful, Wulfy-sama."

"I will," Wulfy said. "And clean up this room. Get help, if you need to." She didn't know when or if she'd need any of the stuff in here, but making it easier to sort through would be helpful. And with that said, she teleported to the first floor.

* * * 

There was yet another set of stairs she had to go up before she reached the entrance. The armour was certainly making her body feel heavy, but in a way the physical exertion helped distract from her mental fatigue. It was eerily quiet here, and that felt nice. Though she started to hear something as she got towards the top.

And up there, between her and the entrance, stood three of the NPCs she had been reading about earlier. Though it probably wasn't really right to call them NPCs any longer, any of them. It was just habit.

All three of the massive beings turned to look at her. The three evil lords: Wrath, Envy, and Greed. Demiurge's bodyguards from the seventh floor. Why were they here? Even though she knew Demiurge and Shalltear had coordinated, she hadn't thought he'd pull someone this important away from their place.

Oh, and she realised she wasn't wearing her usual gear. Did they still recognise her? They were looking at her strangely, but she couldn't feel any obvious hostility. Maybe they were just curious. Would it be strange if she took it off now? Stranger than it already was? Then she noticed someone standing behind them, and he stepped forth. Demiurge. That explained the evil lords, but why was _he_ here?

Upon stepping forth, he went down on one knee, and the evil lords followed suit. "Wulfy-sama." So it seemed they did indeed recognise her. She wasn't sure how. Her aura wasn't on, was it? No, that wasn't it. "What are you doing here without your guards? And what are you wearing?" Demiurge asked.

Reasonable questions in normal circumstances, but Wulfy was a bit too tired right now. "Ah. This is..." What should she say? "An experiment." She was bad at lying when she was tired, and this was close enough to the truth.

"Experiment?" The puzzlement in Demiurge's voice was obvious, and Wulfy wondered if she would have to try to explain what exactly her 'experiment' was. But before she got that far: "Ah, I see!" Demiurge suddenly said. "So that's why." She knew the demon was clever, possibly the most brilliant in Nazarick, but she could not be sure what conclusion he had drawn. Asking him seemed out of the question. "But my role does not allow me to overlook your need for an escort. While I deeply understand what a bother it would be for you, I humbly beg that you allow me to have someone accompany you."

She had to seriously wonder what conclusion he had drawn, but regardless she didn't feel like she could ignore his plea. "I will allow one person to accompany me. That is all," she said.

Demiurge show a brilliant smile. "I appreciate you granting my selfish request, Wulfy-sama."

Wulfy just nodded, and marched right inbetween them. Demiurge was the one the who got up to follow her. So she had to keep up the ruler role a little longer. Fair enough, she might be able to indulge her curiosity a bit further, at least.

Once they were out of range of the evil lords, she said: "I was curious whether you would be able to recognise me like this."

"We could never mistake you, Wulfy-sama," Demiurge stated confidently.

Wulfy wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he sounded absolutely convinced. And didn't elaborate. "I see," was all she said. So she hadn't gotten her alone time, and the fatigue was weighing heavy on her. But she could see the exit now, so before she went back, she would at least have a look outside.

Though as soon as she got outside, the sight of the sky made her forget all her weariness and fatigue. It was magnificent. She had never seen such a clear night sky before, and the stars were spectacular.

The only thought in her mind was that she wanted to see more. She reached for the Fly spell, but found that it would not respond. The armour made most of her spells unusable, and that was one of them. As if the icon was greyed out in the game. Well, then...

She reached into her inventory, and found a wing-shaped necklace. Putting that around her neck, she gave the command: "Fly." The sudden weightlessness was little curious, but perhaps more curious was how in control she felt, even though she had technically never done this before. Without even looking to see if Demiurge was following, she shot into the sky.

* * *

On the way up she could make out the shape of the hills Aura and Mare had been making all day. Her night vision turned out to be excellent.

The speed she could achieve with Fly in this world far exceeded what she had been able to do in Yggdrasil, and before she knew it she was zooming through the clouds. Once she broke through the cloud cover, she slowed down, and came to a stop a little above. While she could tell it was cold, and that the air was thin, her gear compensated for that inconveniencing her. She threw off the helmet she had conjured, and got a proper look in every direction.

"It's amazing..." she uttered. She was able to see so far with just the light of the moon and stars. Far, far in distance she thought she could maybe make out something, but she could be just imagining that. It was still a glorious sight. No signs of pollution. Her friend Blue Planet would have loved it here. She wished she could have shown him this. Was he out there, somewhere? Seeing the same sky?

And the stars... It entered her mind to look for any of the constellations or such she knew from Earth, but nothing resembled what she knew.

Still, it was hard to feel upset, especially with this beautiful world below her. It was as if it was sparkling. "It's like a box of jewels," she said in awe.

"I believe this world shines so that you can adorn yourself with its riches, Wulfy-sama," a voice said behind her. Momentarily annoyed to have her moment intruded on, she turned to see Demiurge. He had brought out his frog-like demon form, so he could grow wings and follow her. Her irritation faded again.

"Maybe you are right," she said. Certainly looking out over the world like this made it feel like she could just reach out, and take it. "But it would be wrong for me to hoard it all for myself. It should be for the glory of Nazarick, and all of my friends in Ainz Woolfe Gown." _That's right_. If she could find them, she would gladly share all of it with them.

"A fine idea, my Lord. You need only say the word, and with your blessing I would mobilise the entirety of Nazarick's armies to obtain these riches for you, Wulfy-sama, the one I respect most highly," Demiurge proclaimed. Such grand speech. Perhaps he was also in awe of this sight, and the ambience it had created.

"Even though we have no idea what is out there? No idea how our strength measures up in this world? Maybe we are next to nothing here," Wulfy said, but Demiurge didn't look like he was discouraged. She turned and looked out over the world again. "Well... taking over the world might be interesting." The thought slipped out there. There was no way they could do that, though. As much as she had fantasised about it when she younger, the older she got, the more she realised what a pain in the butt it would be to manage that much land, that many people, without having revolts and uprisings all over. Not to mention she was even struggling with the idea of only ruling Nazarick.

Though had she seen Demiurge's reaction, she might have shared some of that insight with him, rather than leaving the conversation there.

Again she wondered if she was truly the only one from Yggdrasil here. While she hadn't reached anyone with Message, it was possible they were out of range. Maybe it worked too differently here. So there and then she made up her plan. Ainz Woolfe Gown had been one of the most famous guilds in the game. There can't have been many players who did not know of them. So if she could spread the name far and wide across this world, anyone from Yggdrasil would know she was there.

* * *

She thought she could hear a noise far off, and looked down. The earth was moving, approaching Nazarick's walls. "Earth Surge..." she whispered. It had to be Mare. She could actually see him, she realised, even though they were so far up. He must be using his skills and abilities to boost the spell, and move as much earth as possible at once. An impressive display.

That reminded her. "How are the security preparations proceeding, Demiurge?" she asked. She had secluded herself for several hours, after all.

"They are going well, Wulfy-sama. You can see Mare's progress, and we've set up an early warning network. Any sentient being coming within 5 kilometres will be detected instantly without their knowledge," Demiurge reported.

Wulfy felt some relief at that. "Good work. I would like to hear more about it in the morning," she said. Perhaps it was mere vanity, but she figured that if she knew the details, maybe she could come up with some ideas of her own.

"As you wish," Demiurge said, and bowed. Which looked a little strange when they were airborne. "May I inquire what you plan to do now, Wulfy-sama?" he asked.

"I will go check on Mare. I figure he deserves a reward." Hard work should be recognised, and she liked the idea of doting on all of them. "What do you think would be appropriate?" Wulfy asked.

"I'm sure he will be happy just to have you speak with him, my Lord," Demiurge said. "I have something I need to attend to, if you would give me permission." Wulfy nodded. "I will join you again shortly," he said, then flew off towards the entrance of the Great Tomb.

Wulfy considered his words, and didn't agree that it was enough, so she thought about it while flying down. She re-equipped the helmet to see if Demiurge's earlier statement was correct.

As she landed, an idea had formed in her mind. Something she should have thought about earlier, perhaps. Mare spotted her immediately, and came running over with a big smile on his face.

"Wulfy-sama!" he called out, then came to stop. "I-I most humbly w-welcome and thank you f-for coming." Poor Mare, he always seemed so nervous. Though it seemed like what Demiurge had said was correct. Mare had recognised her immediately.

She might as well remove the helmet. It felt better without it, anyway. "Greetings, Mare," she said.

"W-why have you come? Did... ha-have I done something wrong?" Mare's ears drooped a little extra.

"Not at all," Wulfy was quick to assure him. "I have come to praise your hard work. Your task is very important to safeguarding Nazarick, and it puts me at ease to see how well you're doing." The way the small dark elf lit up was truly a sight for sore eyes. "And I have decided to give you a reward."

The curiosity on Mare's face turned to shock as he saw what she pulled out. A ring identical to one of the ones Wulfy herself wore. "T-th-that's the Ring of... the Ring of Ainz Woolfe Gown! I cannot accept such a reward, only supreme beings are allowed to wear those!" Mare's fervour was so strong that Wulfy was taken aback.

"Relax, Mare," Wulfy said patiently, but firmly. Mare still didn't seem very relaxed. "I have thought it over, and have come to the conclusion that you need this. Isn't the restriction on transportation in Nazarick an inconvenience?" Mare started to seem a little less tense. "In case an attack happens, the old ways may not be sufficient. Our strategies have to adapt. So I want you to be able to move freely, and escape if necessary. Without this ring, that would be impossible." She was satisfied with that logic, even if she was making half of it up as she went along.

"But..." Mare still seemed a little unsure.

Wulfy smiled at him. Such a good child. "I appreciate your loyalty, and value your dedication. I understand why you hesitate. But these are unusual times. If you will not take it as a gift, then take it as an order." She pushed her hand closer to him, and he finally picked it up. When he put it on his finger, the ring adjusted its size to fit him.

"T-thank you, Wulfy-sama. I will work hard to be worthy of this great honour you have bestowed upon me," he said, and bowed deeply.

Wulfy wanted to pet his head again, but with the gloves on it wouldn't feel as good. Maybe she should take the whole outfit off.

Though as she was thinking that, Mare straightened back up and asked: "So... um... why are you dressed like that, Wulfy-sama?"

"Ah... that's..." Wulfy hesitated, wondering if it was okay to call it an experiment again. It was sort of true, but she didn't want to try to explain it. Kids were more curious than adults.

"That's simple," said a feminine voice approaching from behind.

Wulfy turned to see Albedo walking closer, with Demiurge trailing behind her. Was that what he had gone to attend to? Though she must have been working all day, Albedo still looked beautiful. Maybe her hair was a little messy, but that only added to the charm.

"Wulfy-sama didn't want to bother her subordinates while they were working. If they knew she was around, they would all stop what they were doing to bow to her greatness," Albedo explained.

That wasn't entirely correct, but Wulfy was grateful for the lifeline. "As I expected, Albedo. You know exactly what I'm thinking," she said. Then she could tell Albedo's eyes went a little wide when she glanced down at Mare. It didn't break her composure, but Wulfy felt she still had to act quickly. "It is good that you arrived. I have been thinking, and have come to a decision."

"Yes, my Lord?" Albedo inquired.

"As I was explaining to Mare: With the unusual circumstances that plague us, we have to change and adapt our strategies," Wulfy said as she reached into the bag again, and closed her hand around two of the rings. The Guild had made 100 of them, in case their numbers grew, but in the end only 41 had been used. "And with the hard work you have been doing, I feel safe in entrusting you with these." She held forth her hand to show off the rings. "I know the significance these hold for you, and I understand that you may hesitate to accept them, but if you will not do it as a request, then do it as an order. You have proven to me that you deserve them, so take them." There, she hoped that speech would get them both to accept.

For a while neither Albedo nor Demiurge moved, their eyes just switching between looking at Wulfy, and looking at the rings. Then Albedo went first, and picked up one of the rings. A moment later Demiurge followed suit. Wulfy stopped herself from letting out a sigh of relief. That simply wouldn't do.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't regret this decision, Wulfy-sama," Albedo said. She seemed to be trembling slightly.

"As will I," Demiurge concurred.

"Now I shall retire to my chambers for the night," Wulfy declared. She certainly wasn't restless any longer, and just longed for sleep's sweet embrace. Maybe tomorrow was the time she would awake to find all of this just a dream. She knew there were items she could use to not require rest, and maybe it would be prudent to do so, but she knew well how fragile a mind could be. "I trust you will use my gift responsibly." Though before she activated her ring, another thing came to mind. "And one more thing, Albedo. I want you to tell everyone to rest if they feel the need to. I understand, and appreciate, your loyalty and zeal, but I will not abide any of you making mistakes because you're tired." She actually wasn't sure to what extent any of them needed rest, besides herself, but she wanted that to be known, just in case. "Is that understood?"

Albedo bowed again. "Yes, Wulfy-sama."

"Good. If you need me, or anything occurs, you know where to find me." With that she teleported away. Close to collapse, she dispelled the armour, threw off her clothes, and fell into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part has more original content in it, as in both the book and anime, the story hops straight from the end of the meeting (and the guardians talking amongst themselves afterwards, which I decided to skip), to Momonga in the dressing room.  
> I wanted to fill in some blanks there, both because I thought it was fun, and because I thought it might help to set up future stuff.
> 
> And just in general I wanted to make my own character less paranoid and panicky than Momonga. My character actually sleeping is part of that, as I feel that helps explain/justify keeping a calmer head without a skill that forces you to. Rest is important for a sound mind.


	6. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spotting a village under attack unknown knights, Wulfy decides to go stop the massacre going on.

* * *

Wulfy still found herself in her chambers when she woke the next morning, but this time Albedo hadn't joined her. Part of her was disappointed, and she felt a little ashamed of that part.

Yet again she found her gear neatly arranged on the same table as last time. She felt a little bad for creating more work for the maids, but thought that maybe she should accept that as another part of a ruler's privilege.

After getting dressed, she sought out Demiurge to discuss the early warning network. She had some ideas for spells and minions to be incorporated, but for the most part Demiurge seemed to have this well in hand.

Then came the task of convincing the remaining floor guardians to accept their rings. Which included Sebas, where she added to the argument that if he was supposed to remain at her side, he needed to able to move about like she did. Sebas still seemed a little offended at how she had left without an escort last night.

With all of that sorted, she went to her office/study. She had dug out the Mirror of Remote Viewing, and she wanted to figure out how to use it. That would be a handy way to survey the surroundings, and search for people, or other points of interest. Though it was not as easy as she had hoped. She didn't know exactly how long she ended up sitting there, but it sure felt like hours. Sebas was patiently standing at the ready should she require anything, but personally her patience was being grated thin.

The view would move a bit as she gesticulated, but she couldn't really control it as she wanted. So there was a lot of trial and error to find the right movements to use. She occasionally glanced at Sebas. It was almost unnerving how much he resembled Touch Me. Not in looks, but certainly in personality and demeanour. They gave off the same feel.

Then suddenly... "Oh!" She had just ended up moving her hands absentmindedly, barely paying attention any longer, and suddenly it had responded. Had she been trying too hard? Overthinking it? A few more movements confirmed that she had figured it out. She allowed herself a moment of gloating, then heard applause.

"Well done, Wulfy-sama," Sebas said.

Wulfy turned to see if he was being sarcastic, but his expression showed nothing but honest sincerity. Sebas was definitely not created to be the duplicitous type, so she could only assume he was being genuine in his praise.

"Thank you, Sebas," she said, responding in kind. "Sorry for making you stay here for so long."

"What are you saying, Wulfy-sama? As your butler it is my duty and pleasure to stand by, and await your orders. It's how I was created," he said, as if that was completely natural. Wulfy wasn't quite used to it yet. "Though it is true it has been some time. Would you like to take a break?"

Wulfy considered it. She took a moment to stretch, at least. "No, I'm still good," she said. While she had started to feel drowsy, the thrill of success had completely woken her back up. "But you are free to take a break, should you need one. I don't mind."

"I thank you for your consideration, but what sort of butler can rest while their master is still working? And I have an item that stops me from feeling physical fatigue, so I will remain," he said.

Wulfy yet again considered if she should get one of those, but unless she found a way to also ease the mental fatigue, that would probably be unwise. Though having one on hand for emergencies might be useful.

Regardless, it was now time to see what she could find. Whooshing across the landscape, she saw a lot of the grassy plain that indeed seemed to stretch forever, but finally she arrived at a forest. Trailing around the forest, she discovered a village. She'd say it was roughly 10 kilometres south of the Great Tomb. All of the wheat fields, and the proximity to the forest, made it seem very pastoral. Was this typical of the level of progress in this world? Seemed entirely pre-industrial.

There were a lot of people moving about in the village square, though. As she zoomed in, it looked like they were all running. "A festival?" she wondered out loud. She had woken up quite early, so it had to be before noon still. Maybe things were different here, but this level of activity seemed unusual.

"No, that's not it," Sebas said, who had come over to take a look himself.

She could tell he was right as she zoomed even further in. There were armoured knights, some of whom were on horseback, and they were... killing the villagers. It was a slaughter. She managed to zoom right in to ground level, and watched men and women get cut down without mercy.

 _That's weird_ , she thought. Had she seen something like this back in the old world, she surely would have been sick, or even fainted. Right now all she could feel was a seething anger. As she watched, a man tried to fight back against a knight by tackling him, but he didn't have the strength, and was struck down. Before the knight could land the killing blow, the man seemed to look straight at her, and said his final words. They were barely a whisper across the mirror, but she heard them.

She quickly changed the view. It wasn't possible that he had seen her. It had to be just a coincidence that he was looking at something in the same direction.

"What will you do, Wulfy-sama?" Sebas asked.

A good question. For the good of Nazarick, and everyone here, it was best to leave these people alone. She didn't know anything of the politics here, what factions there were, what countries, or whom these knights served. And maybe the strength she had amassed in Yggdrasil was the standard level for people in this world. There were too many risks, too many downsides, to getting involved. What was one unknown village worth compared to all of Nazarick?

But she found herself unable ignore this seething anger. She looked over at Sebas. The look he was giving her seemed exactly like the one his creator used to have.

In her early days in the game she had gotten caught by a group of Player Killers who hunted inhumans. Touch Me had showed up and saved her, and he had managed to track down others, forming their first Guild, that eventually developed into Ainz Woolfe Gown. " _Saving someone who is in trouble is common sense!_ " Such was his motto. And that was perhaps the lesson she should have taken from him. Maybe it was not too late.

Wulfy made her decision. "Sebas, I am heading to this village. Raise Nazarick's security level to maximum, and send in some reinforcements with stealth abilities."

"Yes, my Lord," he said, and bowed.

Wulfy opened her item box, and extracted the Staff of Ains Woolfe Gown. At some point she would have had to test her strength in this world anyway. "Tell Albedo to join me, fully armed," she said as she watched two girls flee from a couple of knights. Then she raised the Staff, and said a single word: "Gate."

* * * 

Next to the two girls, and the two knights, an ink-black semi-circle rose from the ground. The feeling of travel was different from using the ring. Just like stepping through a strange door. The sight that greeted her was the knights, both frozen, one of them with his sword in the air. Glancing down, she saw the two girls. One very young, the other possibly a teenager. The older one had a nasty gash across her back.

Wulfy narrowed her eyes as she looked back at the knight with the sword raised. Raising the Staff again, she said: "Soul Flare." A distant shriek, or maybe a howl, could be heard, and Wulfy could see the life in the man's eyes get snuffed out. He collapsed like a puppet that had had its strings cut.

Soul Flare was a tier 9 spell that inflicted heavy spirit damage, but calculated by her fire stat. Handy for circumventing an enemy's fire resistance. It was one of her favourite spells, but not the absolute favourite. There were two reasons she picked this one though. First: If it had not been enough to kill the knight, it had a stun effect that would have given her time to retreat. Second: she was worried her favourite spell might cause some AoE damage to the girls.

Thankfully the spell had done its job, and that was one less threat. Fairly confident she was able to hold off the second knight now, she stepped inbetween him and the girls.

"M-monster," he managed to sputter forth.

"Oh? You're fine hunting little girls, but you can't face someone your own size?" Wulfy snarled, ignoring that she was quite literally bigger than him.

The knight took a step backwards, then another. Maybe his survival instinct was finally overcoming his fear. As much as Wulfy wanted to tear him apart, she still needed to test more things. Unless it was a fluke, it seemed like a tier 9 spell would one-shot these guys. So she'd try something weaker. Something she didn't have any boosts to. No need to buff it with anything either. For good measure, she wouldn't even use the Staff.

As she raised her free hand, the man finally spun about and broke into a run. She picked a common tier 5 spell that she hadn't specced anything towards. Her goal wasn't to kill the man. Yet. "Dragon Lightning." A bolt of lightning that resembled a roaring dragon leapt from her index finger, and raced towards the man. He lit up as the lightning coursed through his entire being, and he collapsed, just as dead as his compatriot.

 _They're this weak?_ Wulfy thought in slight shock. Tier 5 spells were basically useless at her level in Yggdrasil. It also hit her that she had just killed two men, and the only thing she felt was the rage and desire to wipe them all out. _Have I stopped being human, then? Or is the anger overpowering my other feelings?_ She had never been a violent person, so she didn't know how any of that was 'supposed' to feel.

Dealing with these two so easily had largely eased her fears that she would be in trouble, but she was still wary of becoming reckless. If she was going after the rest, it would be foolish to do so alone. Any caster knew that much. She had the ability to summon pet monsters, though. This one it might be worth boosting with the Staff.

"Summon Titan Elemental." A spark flew out of the Staff, and hopped into a nearby stone. It started rumbling, then pulled itself out of the ground. That wasn't how it had worked in Yggdrasil. There the summons just manifested from thin air. Faded into existence.

The stone quickly reshaped itself into the form of a lightly glowing yellow floating rock with two smaller rocks floating at its sides, to act as its arms. It thrummed slightly as the glow slowly dimmed, then intensified again. Not strong enough to be a lamp, but it was clearly visible at a distance.

Titan was a special version of an earth elemental, and replaced the Greater Earth Elemental spell. It was specialised for protection, and had a lot of HP and resilience, plus the ability to draw the aggro of all nearby enemies. Even though it was technically only about level 50, it was sturdy enough to hold off enemies many levels above it, especially so long as its master was quick to dispatch those enemies, and keep it healed. Plus with the boost from the staff, it was probably closer to level 60.

Once it was fully formed, its eyes lit up. Yellow, like two tiny flames, and they seemed to contain the same rage Wulfy was feeling. Whether that was its natural state, or it was feeling it through its master's link was unclear. "Titan, take down the knights who are attacking this village," she said, pointing at the one she hit with the dragon lightning as an example. It wasn't specialised in offence, but if the others weren't much stronger than these ones, then Titan should have no problem holding them off, especially with Wulfy's support.

Though as soon as she'd given the order, Titan gave off a wordless roar, and charged off towards the village square. Wulfy watched in disbelief as the yellow orb gradually vanished from sight. _What use is a defensive monster that doesn't stay by its master? Well, I was the one who gave the order, but_...

While she was considering whether to summon another, another figure stepped through the still open portal.

"The preparations took some time. Please accept my apologies." In her full gear, Albedo was armoured head to toe in raven-black plate, with the eye-slit being the only opening. It was the inspiration for the armour Wulfy had created for herself, as she thought it looked really cool. Armed with a kite shield on her left arm, and wielding an evil-looking bardiche in her right (both matching the colour of her armour), Albedo was the best tank Nazarick had.

"Do not worry. In fact, your timing is actually perfect," Wulfy said. Now she didn't have to worry about summoning another minion.

"Thank you, my Lord," she replied, then she turned her gaze to the two girls. "How would you like me to dispose of these lower lifeforms?"

 _Lower lifeforms?_ Wulfy kept being surprised at how the guardians phrased things. "Didn't Sebas tell you? We're here to save this village." Now that she thought about it, maybe she hadn't specified that to Sebas, but she had assumed it was obvious. "For now, the knights wearing that armour are our enemy."

"Understood," Albedo said, though she remained ready to spring into action.

Wulfy looked down at the girls themselves, and they visibly tried to pull away from her gaze. "It looks like you're injured," she said in what she hoped was a calming tone, and retrieved a potion from her inventory. "Drink this," she said, and offered it to the older girl. While she could have used a healing spell, she was curious whether a potion would work. Magic would be plan B.

It was only a lesser healing potion, the kind everyone started out with. She had used them a little when she first started, but it didn't take that long for her regeneration ticks to heal more than a single potion this level would. Not to mention she got better potions. Still, they were a frequent enough drop that she had a good amount of them left. She never threw anything away.

The girl looked at the potion as if she thought it was poison, then looked up at Wulfy with a terrified expression. She slowly reached for it. "I-I'll drink it, but please let my little sister-"

"No, you can't!" the younger girl shouted, and grabbed her sister's hand, pulling it back.

Wulfy was a little nonplussed. Had they never seen a potion before? Besides, she had just saved their lives, didn't they see that? Why would she then turn around and harm them?

The two sisters arguing clearly didn't sit well with Albedo. "You dare refuse a gift from the Great One, you lower lifeforms?" she asked venomously, and raised her bardiche to strike.

Both girls froze. "W-wait, let's not be hasty. Lower your weapon, Albedo," Wulfy said quickly, and thankfully Albedo obeyed immediately.

When she thought about it, the girls' terror made sense. Werewolves and other inhumans may have been common enough in Yggdrasil, but to these girls she must just look like another monster. And even if it was to save them, she had just killed two men right in front of their eyes. Not to mention the way Albedo spoke about them. _I probably would have been terrified too, at their age_.

She crouched down to hopefully seem less threatening. "It's medicine. Drink it quickly, if you value your life." The wound on her back was serious, after all. It was impressive that she was still holding on.

At that, the girl accepted the potion, and drunk it all in one go. The wound closed up immediately, even going so far as to repair her clothes. "No way..." she whispered, and tried to look over her shoulder.

Wulfy stood back up, feeling slightly relieved. So that was enough for a wound like that, huh? Good to know. "The pain is gone, right?" she asked.

The girl nodded. "Y-yes," she said. While she still looked worried, most of the fear in her expression was gone.

Now for an important question. "Do you know what magic is?" Wulfy asked.

"Y-yes," the girl nodded, and seemed careful to never actually take her eyes off of Wulfy. "I ha-have a friend who sometimes visits the village. H-he's a pharmacist, and can use magic."

"I see." It was good to have confirmation that magic existed in this world. "That makes this easier to explain. I'm a magic caster." Wulfy reached into her repertoire of spells. "Anti-Life Cocoon. Wall of Protection From Arrows." A domed shield erected itself around the girls.

Defensive spells were essential in Yggdrasil, and anyone who used magic would at least learn most of the common ones.

"This will stop anyone from getting close to you. You should be safe." At least assuming another powerful caster didn't show up, but no need to say that out loud. As some added security, she fished another couple of items from her inventory, and threw them into the dome. Thankfully the shield didn't recognise them as projectiles, and let them through. It was two horns that looked like they were made from bone. "Take these too. If you blow them, they will summon an army of goblins that will obey your orders. Use them to protect yourselves."

Another useless item for her. Far too low level, but at worst it should buy the girls time to escape. Wulfy had used one of them once, and it summoned a sizable group of fairly strong goblins, at least by their standards. There were melee fighters, rangers, and even a caster. More importantly, the goblins summoned weren't on a timer. They remained until they were killed.

Now it was time to deal with the rest of this mess. Wulfy turned to walk towards the village square, and Albedo fell in step with her.

"W-wait!" the older girl called out, and Wulfy half-turned to look at her. "Th-thank you very much for rescuing us," she said, and got onto her hands and knees to bow.

Her little sister followed suit. "Thank you very much," she echoed.

"Don't worry about it," Wulfy told them. It made her feel a little warm to receive thanks, though.

"A-and... I know it's shameless of me to ask favours, but... p-please save our mom and dad!" the older girl said.

Wulfy had a sinking feeling they were among the ones she had seen die. "If they're still alive, I will help them," she said even so. Maybe it wasn't too late to do something.

"Th-thank you. Thank you!" Both girls seemed close to tears. "And... may I ask your name?"

Wulfy was about to give her regular name, when she suddenly remembered what she had decided last night. This was a place to start, and 'Wulfy' was hardly the sort of grand name they'd expect from someone like her. "You would do well to remember my name. I am Ainz Woolfe Gown!" Every legend starts with a single step.

* * *

Down in the village square everyone had frozen. The knights had thought they had everything well in hand, as this sort of raid had become habit. They had attacked the village from every side, driving the villagers towards the square, and striking down those who attempted to fight back or escape. They had rounded up all of the survivors in the middle, and were going to cull their numbers, leaving only a few to tell the tale, as soon as they had caught the last stragglers. Just like all the villages they'd gone after before. Until one of their number had come flying through the air, and landed in a crumpled heap before them. Then they had seen the thing.

A glowing rock monster with eyes that were like two yellow flames. While you might think it would be more of an absurd sight than a scary one, the sense of malice coming from the thing was palpable. It exuded hatred as it watched them. They had tried attacking it, and it had effortlessly knocked its attackers aside, while their weapons glanced or bounced off of it. Not making a single scratch. Some had tried to run, but it had hit the ground, and sent a rumble through the earth that turned into a large spike that impaled the runners. Then it had emitted a roar that was more felt than heard, and everyone had frozen.

Now they weren't sure what to do. Attacking was pointless. Running was hopeless. Some of the men were saying that God had abandoned them. That the earth itself had risen to hunt them for their sins. And the monster was very slowly floating towards them. While it didn't have a face that could show expressions, it seemed like it was satisfied with their fearful reactions.

It was now approaching one of them, and the man lost his nerve. He shrieked, turned, and tried to run, but like the others before him he soon had a spiky rock go right through him.

"You bastards! Get that monster under control!" Someone started yelling. It quickly became obvious who: Commander Bellius. While he was ostensibly their leader, he was a coward, and lacking in both self-control and discipline. He was a man of means back home, and had likely weaselled himself into this assignment for the prestige of it. "I'm too important to die here! Be my shields! Buy me time to get away!"

No one reacted. First off they didn't really care for the guy, and second they knew what would happen if they moved. Though the monster took notice of his screaming, and turned towards him. The other could only watch as the thing floated ever closer, and the commander became increasingly panicked.

"I'll pay you!" Bellius shouted. "200 gold. 500! No, 1000 gold!" That was a lot of money, and he probably had that much, but money was no good when you were dead. The thing was nearly on top of him. "No! Save me!" The monster raised one of its arms, and before the commander was able to do anything else, the glowing appendage came down on the top of his helmet with such force that the man basically exploded. No one present had thought it was possible to do that to a human body.

As the only remaining ranking officer, Londes knew this couldn't go on, or they'd all just get slowly killed off. The thing was clearly in no hurry, but it was also relentless. Hearing the soldiers panicking over how Bellius had just gotten killed spurred him into action.

"Calm down!" Londes shouted, full knowing he might draw the monster's attention. "We're retreating! At my signal, call the horses and horseback archers! The rest of you will buy us time!" They had one knight in the back with a whistle used for the call, and they had to protect him. Everyone straightened up now that they had orders and a purpose. Londes gave the signal, and the knight dropped his sword, and went for his haversack.

While it was unclear whether the monster understood speech, it clearly recognised something was going on. It sped up, and came flying straight for the knight with the whistle. The others tried to stop it, or at least slow it down, but aside from knocking them to the side like broken dolls, it didn't even seem to take notice of them. Londes charged to meet the thing. If he went for the eyes, maybe that was a critical area.

But before he could even land his sword, the ground suddenly went away from him. With a crushed chest he only had a few moments of life left to watch as the monster kept charging towards the last knights.

When it seemed like they were all about to die, a voice called out.

* * *

"Titan! That's enough!" the recently renamed Ainz called from above. She had used Fly on both herself and Albedo, and they were hovering above the scene. By the time they had arrived to see for themselves, Titan had just started its final charge. She had wondered whether any of them would be left, but there were still four knights standing. That'd have to do.

They probably could have gotten here sooner, but after leaving the girls' sight, and checking that their parents were actually dead, Ainz had decided she needed to disguise herself.

Every werewolf had the ability to change into a human form. Otherwise they wouldn't be a werewolf, just a wolf-person. But Ainz was not sure how to change, nor what her human form was currently configured to look like, or if she could change the appearance of it at all. There wasn't really time to start experimenting with that, so a disguise would have to do.

She had pulled out a mask from an event a couple of years ago to hide her beastly face. It was just a vanity item with no stats attached, but it had an interesting look that might help her sell her character. In addition she put on some simple gauntlets that didn't have any class restrictions. They provided a slight boost to strength, but were otherwise unremarkable. And her tail was firmly tucked away. So right now she appeared as a large, masked, robed figure with another figure in full plate besides her.

As she landed, she spread her arms in greeting. "Nice to meet you all. My name is Ainz Woolfe Gown," she said, addressing the remaining knights. "If you surrender, I will spare your lives. If you still want to fight..." The four knights threw down their swords immediately. "Good, good. I shall have you return alive. Tell your master- your owner of what happened here. And give them the message that should they ever cause trouble here again, I shall bring ruin upon their country." She wondered how convincing she sounded. "Is that understood?"

The knights nodded vigorously.

"Then go. Flee! And make sure you deliver my message!" she yelled after them as they broke and ran.Acting this way was a tiring task, though she wasn't quite done keeping up appearances yet. She turned her attention to the villagers. There were still quite a number left, which made her feel a bit of relief. The massacre hadn't been as total as it looked like in the Mirror.

"You... w-who are you?" one of the men in front asked. He wasn't taking the Titan elemental out of his sight though, which was probably understandable as they had seen up close what it could do.

"I saw your village being attacked, and came to help," Ainz said in what she again hoped was a calming tone. "You're safe now. Please be at ease."

The villagers made expressions of relief, but they still seemed a little uneasy. Maybe they were worried there was a catch, or they were wary of her abilities.

 _No such thing as a free lunch, isn't that what they say?_ Well, maybe she should roll with that. "Of course, I expect some compensation for my trouble." It felt a little tasteless to ask for payment, but it wasn't like she was a hero anyway.

And it seemed like it worked. Clearly they were more comfortable with someone helping out, and then expecting something in return, than someone just doing it out of the goodness of their heart. Perhaps easier to trust someone who's seemingly open about their intentions.

It occurred to her that if she wanted to keep up this disguise, she'd have to do something about those two girls who saw her real form. Hopefully memory manipulation magic worked, otherwise she'd have to take them with her. Killing them wasn't an option she was comfortable with.

* * *

After sorting that out, under the pretence of simply going to fetch the girls, she met with the village chief. Asking for money was the most obvious demand, but a village like this didn't have a lot to begin with. She'd try to set a price that wouldn't bankrupt them, but what she was most interested in was information. Not knowing anything about this world was a huge disadvantage, and even if they didn't know that much, she would take whatever she could get.

Thankfully they bought her story about being a magic caster who had been secluded due to research, and knew next to nothing about the current state of the world. They didn't seem to find her mask strange at all after learning she was a caster, so she had to wonder what sort of people casters in this world were. Regardless, they would tell her all they could.

Out of curiosity, she asked about the money from Yggdrasil, but they didn't recognise it. While the gold itself probably had value, she figured she should avoid using the coins themselves. It might be risky. Unless she could find a trusted source to convert it. Melting the gold down, and selling it like that could be an option in such a case, but at current she had no way of replenishing Nazarick's gold supplies. They were vast, but not infinite. She needed to figure out more options.

Next she asked about the country they were in, and apparently this place, Carne village, was located in the Re-Estize Kingdom. It didn't match anything she recognised from Yggdrasil, but it seemed like Nazarick also lay within those borders.

In addition their neighbours were the Baharuth Empire to east, past the mountain range. Apparently the knights' uniforms matched those of soldiers from Baharuth. It sounded like Re-Estize and Baharuth were on bad terms, and skirmishes or small wars happened basically every year. There was a large fortress city nearby called E-Rantel, which lay close to the plains where most of the battles took place.

There was yet another neighbour, to the south of both nations: the Slane Theocracy. As the name indicated, they were a deeply religious nation, especially in terms of who held power.

Considering the proximity of this village to all three countries, Ainz wasn't willing to rule out that maybe the Theocracy were involved here. She definitely should have kept one of the knights for questioning. Maybe it wasn't too late to have some of her troops follow them, and bring one back. No, no use worrying about that now. It was too early to start getting involved in politics anyway, but she'd have to keep them all in mind, and figure out if she wanted to try to work with any of them, and if so, which one.

If this was a classic RPG, the big quest might have been to reconcile the differences between the Kingdom and the Empire, and bring peace to the land, but somehow she doubted it was that easy.

Intriguingly they mentioned that E-Rantel was a gathering point for Adventurers, who hunted monsters and completed other missions in exchange for a reward. There was an Adventurer's Guild house in the city that managed all of this. That sounded like it was something worth investigating. She would like to see how big this city was, and how people lived there. Learning more about these Adventurers would also be useful. Both as potential threats and allies.

While they were talking, the other villagers had made preparations to bury their dead. Ainz had said she would take care of the dead knights, so Titan had been moving those. Maybe their bodies could be useful for conducting experiments.

She stood up on the cemetery hill not far from them, but also not too close, as they mourned, not wanting to intrude. In her inventory she knew she had several Wands of Resurrection, and she could have used that to bring them all back, including the girls' dead parents. They were weeping heavily by the grave. Did she really have a good reason to abstain from using the wand?

Unfortunately yes. Not only could she easily imagine that a caster who could revive the dead would attract more trouble than just one who can cause death, but she had no idea how or if resurrection magic worked here. It was dangerous to experiment on the knights as well, even with what she stood to gain from questioning them. For instance there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be sent elsewhere when resurrected, like being restored to some sort of home point. Without knowing more, it was far too dangerous. While it might be frustrating, having saved the village would have to suffice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing I've been pondering most about this part of the story, is Ainz's comment about resurrecting the villagers. Did Maruyama write that bit before he decided how resurrection works in this setting? Because by the rules stated in later books, it's unlikely the villagers were high enough level for resurrection to work on them. Perhaps that didn't occur to Ainz at the time, or he assumed the villagers were strong enough to withstand it. But he seemed quite confident that he could have done it.  
> I'm not sure, but it is a curiosity. I've written enough that I'm well familiar with a story developing into unexpected territory while it's being written. So I decided to not change that part.  
> The next chapter will technically be the last, which means it'll be a tad longer than the others. I'll do the final two sections as a short epilogue.


	7. New Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the arrival of the strongest warrior in the kingdom, the enemy sprung their trap, yet again endangering the village. Such deeds couldn't go unpunished.

* * *

It may be small, but this was the start of spreading Ainz Woolfe Gown's name in this world. If there were other Yggdrasil players in this world, she wanted to find them, and help them if she could. And she should do her best to not tarnish her name, in case that might antagonise the others. Even if she didn't think of herself as a hero, maybe they did.

Walking through the village, she was sort of impressed how they were already cleaning up, and rebuilding. She supposed that if you lived in a world of monsters and war, you had to learn to deal with loss. But this one village was her foothold now. She didn't intend to let anything more happen to it.

Regardless, it was probably time to return to Nazarick. It was approaching evening by this point, and they had done everything they could for now. She glanced at Albedo, and noticed the way she was watching the villagers. Even with the helmet on, Ainz could tell she disapproved.

"Do you not like humans?" she asked.

Albedo turned towards Ainz. "They're weak creatures. Lower lifeforms. All I can think of is how beautiful it would be to crush them like bugs," she said.

 _I used to be human, you know_ , Ainz thought, but couldn't make herself say it out loud. Albedo had already seen Ainz in an unflattering position, and she was still worried that Albedo's opinion of her might go down. "Calmly treat them with kindness. Keeping up an act is also important," she said out loud. Albedo bowed slightly to indicate her understanding. "Besides, I think they can be kind of cute," Ainz added. Maybe that was in part because she had such a desire to pat people on the head. She wondered whether Albedo would appreciate that.

"Well, we've done what we came to do, and even got something out of it. I think it's time we returned... back..." Her sentence trailed off, as she noticed some men came hurrying over to the chief, and started talking quickly, seeming agitated. Another problem already?

As she drew closer, she heard someone say: "What do we do?" But no one seemed to have a good answer.

"What's wrong, chief?" Ainz asked.

"Ah, Ainz-sama!" he said, and she could hear the hope in his voice. "We've spotted more knights rapidly approaching the village on horseback."

Ah, no wonder they were worried. "I see," Ainz said. "Have everyone gather back at your home. You and I will meet the knights at the village square."

Relieved looks spread across all of their faces. Ainz had already saved them, so what good would it do if her efforts were so quickly wasted? She didn't really have a choice. Soon enough Ainz, Albedo, and the chief were standing in the open in the square, with the Titan elemental floating behind them.

* * *

Already at a distance she could easily see that these knights had different uniforms and emblems, and there didn't seem to be any hostility in their approach. There was an urgency to then, but no one had their weapons drawn. The man at the head of the group was notably different. His armour was unique, and much fancier than the rest of them.

They rode into the square, and quickly assembled in formation. Then the man who was clearly their leader moved his horse forwards towards the Ainz and the others. He seemed much stronger than the rest of them. More robust. His sharp gaze landed on the elemental, then it snapped to Albedo. He looked at her for a while, but she didn't react in any way, so his eyes finally turned to Ainz. She met his gaze.

"I'm the Royal Head Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom: Gazef Stronoff," he stated confidently. "I am here on orders of the King to hunt down the knights that have been attacking villages in this area."

Ainz pondered this information that Carne was not the first, and probably wouldn't have been the last. Then to her side she heard the chief murmur: "The Royal Head Warrior..."

Gazef finally looked at the chief. "You must be the chief of this village. Who is this standing beside you?"

"Oh, this is..." the chief started to say, but Ainz took a step forward to introduce herself.

"A pleasure to meet you, Royal Head Warrior," she said, and bowed her head slightly in greeting. "My name is Ainz Woolfe Gown. I'm a magic caster who came to this village's aid when I saw they were under attack."

At hearing that, Stronoff dismounted his horse, and bowed solemnly. "Words cannot express my thanks for your actions." The show of respect seemed to surprise everyone present.

"Don't worry about it," Ainz said. "I have already negotiated my reward with the village chief."

"Oh, a reward? So you're an Adventurer?" Stronoff asked.

"Something like that," Ainz said, and smiled, even though no one could see it.

"You seem to be quite strong," Stronoff remarked. "I'm sorry to say I have not heard your name."

"I have been travelling, so I suppose my name has not spread here yet." That was close enough to the truth. Though hopefully that name would spread quickly.

"Travelling, you say? I feel bad asking for some of your time, but could you tell me about the ones who attacked the village?" Stronoff asked next.

"Certainly, Royal Head Warrior," Ainz responded. "They were a band of knights, and I took the lives of most of them, so I would wager that they shall no longer cause much trouble in these parts."

"You... you killed them yourself, Gown-dono?" Stronoff sounded slightly surprised, but what interested Ainz was the way she was addressed.

She had gotten so used to playing a Japanese game that it had become natural for her to put surname first. Seems like the opposite was the case here. It was too late to change it now, though.

"In a manner of speaking," Ainz replied. She could tell Stronoff's eyes went to the elemental again.

"What is that thing, exactly?" Stronoff asked.

"Oh, that's a minion I summoned. It's an elemental. Are they not common in these parts?" Ainz saw a chance to get in a question of her own.

"I know of elementals, but have never seen one like that," Stronoff said, and he seemed genuinely impressed by it.

So they knew of elementals, but not like Titan. Well, that sort of made sense. Even if casters who could summon were common, this was a highly specialised one.

Though before Stronoff could say anything else, one of his men approached. "Head Warrior," he said, and Stronoff turned towards him. "Unknown figures have been spotted in the area. They have surrounded the village, and are closing in as we speak."

Ainz suppressed a sigh. Even more trouble. If they were affiliated with the knights from earlier, clearly they had not learned their lesson.

* * *

After retreating into the chief's house with the other villagers, Ainz and Stronoff looked out at the figures who were standing at a short distance from the village. She could see the angels hovering behind their masters, and figured they had to be casters, but...

"Who are these people?" she said out loud.

"The only ones who could field this many casters would be the Slane Theocracy," Stronoff said, and didn't sound at all happy about it. "And considering their calibre, and those angels, it's likely one of the six scriptures."

So her guess about the Theocracy perhaps staging this was correct. "Is this village really that important?" she had to ask.

"If they're not after you, Gown-dono, then..."

"It seems like you have some enemies, Head Warrior," Ainz finished his sentence.

"To think that they'd go so far to get to me," Stronoff said with a hint of bitterness.

Ainz took a good look at those angels. _Are those flame archangels? Do they really have those here?_ she pondered. Her magic from Yggdrasil worked, but why would monsters from Yggdrasil be here? Had they also been teleported over? No wait, these were summoned. Which raised the question of how these people knew spells from Yggdrasil.

"I would like to hire you, Gown-dono," Stronoff said.

Ainz blinked behind the mask. She hadn't expected that, but maybe she should have.

"I can promise you any amount as a reward," Stronoff added.

However... "I fear I must decline," Ainz said. This seemed unwise to charge into.

"I see," Stronoff said, and straightened up. "Then take care, Gown-dono. I thank you again for saving this village," he said, and took Wulfy's hand. Then placed his other hand on top of it to emphasise his sincerity. "I am truly grateful. I know this is a selfish request, but please protect the villagers once more. I beg of-" he seemed like he was about to go down on one knee, so Ainz put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You don't have to go that far. I understand," she said. "I will allow no further harm to come to this village and its people. I stake the name of Ainz Woolfe Gown on it."

"Then I have nothing to worry about," Stronoff said, with a genuine smile on his face. "I can focus on the enemy ahead of me."

In truth, Ainz felt a little bad for refusing, but it wouldn't do to underestimate her enemies, or take foolish risks. The knights may have been weak, but these casters might not be. Still... "Then please take this," she said, and held forth an item that looked like a small wooden idol. She had a plan.

Stronoff gave it an odd look. "A gift from one such as you? I will gladly accept," he said, and picked it up.

"I wish you luck in battle," Ainz said. Perhaps this would all work out, and Stronoff and his men would win. Though she didn't think the Theocracy would have made a move like this without being certain they would win. At least she wouldn't have.

* * *

She went outside with Albedo to see them off. Stronoff and his men got onto their horses with determined expressions, and rode off to possibly meet their doom. It was admirable in its own way. Their strength of will certainly couldn't be called into question.

"See, Albedo? When you speak with them, you might grow somewhat fond of them. Like with small animals," Ainz said.

Albedo didn't seem entirely convinced. "Is that why you swore on your great name?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Ainz replied. "Relay orders to our minions in the area. Tell them to be on the lookout for any ambushing troops, and knock them out should there be any." Whether they were looking to ambush the village or Stronoff, it wouldn't do to get careless right now.

"As you wish, Ainz-sama. Ah, the chief is approaching," Albedo said.

Indeed, both the chief and his wife were approaching, with worried expressions. "Ainz-sama, why has the Royal Head Warrior left us? Is he not supposed to protect us?" There seemed to be some frustration, or perhaps anger, in the chief's voice along with his worry.

"The Head Warrior made the right call, chief," Ainz assured him. "These men are after him, so he rode out to keep them from attacking the village."

"S-so we should just wait here?" the chief asked.

"No," Ainz stated. "We should look for an opening to escape. While they are focused on the Head Warrior, we will take the first chance we see to get away." Actually that was the worst case scenario, but it seemed like the more reasonable thing to tell them. The chief and his wife exchanged relieved looks, but Ainz could tell they were still worried. Understandable. "For now, have everyone gather in the strongest building in the village. I shall cast some protective magic around it."

_And then we wait._

* * *

The item she had given Stronoff was actually a consolation prize from one of the gachas in Yggdrasil. Because of the amount of money she had spent on the game, and her cursed luck, she had an embarrassing amount of them, and was honestly happy to get rid of one. If she wasn't such a hoarder, and they hadn't cost so much money, she would have thrown them all out long ago.

Now it allowed her to keep watch over what Stronoff was doing.

He was actually doing pretty well. That sword of his seemed special, not to mention he employed several skills she had not seen in Yggdrasil. His men were not doing so well. Fighting the angels required better skills and gear than they had, but they still engaged without hesitation. It had seemed like Stronoff had tried to get them to escape while he kept the casters and angels busy, but they had turned around to come to his aid. Such loyalty. Foolish, but loyal.

But for every angel Stronoff was able to slay, the casters just summoned more. It was regrettable that Ainz couldn't get a read on their MP reserves through a second-hand view. Especially for that smarmy-looking one in the back who seemed different, and had a stronger angel with him. Very regrettable. Anyway, Stronoff seemed like he was approaching his limit, so it was time for Ainz to prepare her move. He was proving far more resilient than she had expected, so she had time to set everything up perfectly.

She listened to the exchange between Stronoff and the smarmy one while setting things up. Stronoff had just made a grand declaration of how he wouldn't lose to the likes of them.

"You will die here precisely because you spout nonsense like that," the other one said. He voice sounded like what you'd expect from a man like him: Haughty and arrogant. "What are you still able to do in that state, Stronoff?" he taunted. "Once you are dead, we will move in, and massacre the villagers."

 _Oh, will you now?_ Ainz thought to herself.

"Cease your futile resistance, and fall quietly," mister smarmy proclaimed. "If you do, I will make sure your death is swift and painless."

To his credit, Stronoff started laughing. "You fool. There's someone even stronger than me back in that village. Even should you fell me, you would stand no chance against her."

"Stronger than you?" the smarmy one sneered. "You think to fool me with a bluff like that? Angels, kill him!"

 _Thank you for your vote of confidence, Head Warrior_. Ainz had completed her preparations. "Seems like it's time for me to tag in," she said across the link such that Stronoff could hear it. And then...

* * *

She and Albedo were on the plain. Stronoff and his warriors were gone. In the reddish light of the setting sun, even the blood on the grass was invisible. As if the battle had never taken place.

"Who are you?" the smarmy one asked.

When she thought about it, he had given his name earlier, hadn't he? Nigun, was it? "A pleasure to meet you, people of the Slane Theocracy," Ainz said casually. "My name is Ainz Woolfe Gown. Please call me Ainz. And this is my capable subordinate Albedo." She was actively suppressing the smouldering rage she could feel inside to sound civil and casual. "I have come here to offer you a deal."

"You're here to beg for the villagers' life?" Nigun assumed, still seeming just as smarmy.

Ainz had barely met the man, and already she despised him. "No such thing. See, I overheard your conversation with the Head Warrior. You said you were going to massacre the villagers I went out of my way to save. Such a level of disrespect can not be tolerated. It's downright offensive, really."

"Offensive?! And what are you going to about it, magic caster?" Nigun said mockingly.

"Here is my offer. Surrender your lives to me without resisting, and I will make sure there is no pain," Ainz stated confidently. "But should you refuse, you will die painfully, and despair at your own foolishness." It was the only thing she was willing to promise to these people.

Nigun simply gave her an 'are you serious' look in response. "Angels, attack," he ordered.

Two of them detached from the rest, and flew straight at Ainz. Neither Ainz nor Albedo made a move, and the two angels impaled her with their swords.

"See? That's what happens when you make stupid bluffs," Ainz heard Nigun say.

Or so it seemed. One of her passive skills was high-tiered damage nullification. Skills, spells, and attacks below a certain level couldn't inflict any harm on her. These angels certainly weren't up to the task. She had barely even felt it when the swords went through her.

She grabbed both angels by the throat when they got close, and was held to get a closer look. They were definitely the Archangel Flames from Yggdrasil, and such weak monsters couldn't break free from someone at her level, even though she was just a caster.

The Theocracy's casters had noticed she was holding the angels, and were making shocked sounds. "Didn't I tell you?" Ainz said, and pushed the angels apart to reveal her masked face again. "Surrender without resisting. Don't you know it's unwise to not heed the warnings of others?"

Among cries of "Impossible!" and "What's happening?", she smashed both angels into the ground so hard they immediately disintegrated. That had felt surprisingly good. Maybe there was something to melee classes after all.

She fixed her gaze on the enemy casters again. "I would like to know how you are able to cast spells, and summon monsters, that were in Yggdrasil, but I suppose I'll have to set aside my curiosity for now." She took a step forward. "Now it's my turn. I hope you're prepared for a massacre."

"Have all the angels at once! Hurry!" Nigun's scream sounded a bit panicked.

The vast number of angels came down on her simultaneously. In a way that made it easier. "Albedo, stand back," Ainz ordered, and Albedo quickly leapt out of range for Ainz to cast her spell. "Flame Burst!" A blindingly hot field shot out from her in a dome, and instantly incinerated every angel it touched. It was weaker than Dragon Breath, but its field of effect was all around her instead of just a cone. Plus this rank of monsters didn't deserve her full power.

"M-monster!" "That's impossible!" were some of the legible shouts among the screaming that came from the casters at seeing all of their angels taken out at once. They started casting a wide array of spells at Ainz to try to do something. All of them were low tier spells that she recognised, and far too weak to do anything against her magic barrier.

"Who taught you those spells?!" Ainz said, now irritated enough that some of her rage was slipping out.

One of the men made an awful noise, and launched something from a sling on his wrist. Suddenly Albedo was there, and the man's head exploded. Everyone from the Theocracy froze, wondering out loud what had just happened.

"Albedo, you should be aware that such projectiles cannot harm me in any way," Ainz said, even though Albedo leaping to her defence had felt strangely satisfying. She had countered the projectile, sending it right back at its owner. "There was no need for you to intervene."

"But Ainz-sama," Albedo said, straightening out from her strike pose. "A certain bare minimum has to be met to fight you. Using something so weak is too disrespectful to let pass."

Ainz had to laugh. "But if we say that, then none of their efforts are good enough." She smiled at Albedo behind the mask, then turned to Nigun. "Don't you agree?" she asked him.

The man took a step backwards. "Principality of Observation, attack!" The angel that had merely floated next to Nigun the whole time finally moved. It was larger, and obviously stronger, than the other angels, and it summoned a mace before flying up to Ainz and striking.

Ainz stopped the strike with one hand. _Such child's play_. "Well, I guess I should fight back. Freezing Touch." As the name would indicate, it was a touch-based spell, and the angel itself was not in range. But Ainz was holding the mace. A chill burst forth, and ice rapidly enveloped the mace, making its way towards the angel. The thing wasn't sentient enough to realise it should drop the mace, so the ice got to its hand, and then spread across the entire thing. Ainz gently pushed it away, and it fell onto the ground; breaking into a million pieces that rapidly disintegrated.

"Impossible!" Nigun shrieked. "There's no way a high-level angel could be destroyed with a single spell!" He had just seen it, yet clearly refused to believe it.

"W-what do we do, Captain Nigun?" one of the men asked him.

Nigun looked lost for a moment, but then a look of realisation came across him. He reached into his robe, and pulled out a crystal. "We will summon the highest level angel!" he declared, holding it forth.

Ainz stopped. She recognised what that was. A sealing crystal that could store any magic aside from top tier spells for later use. So they had items from Yggdrasil too. Perhaps caution was genuinely advised. "Albedo, use your skills to protect me," she ordered calmly. "If it's truly a seraph class angel, we might have to fight with all we've got." She would save true worry for when they saw what it was. Maybe it was something unique to this world. That would be the most interesting outcome. Albedo obediently jumped in front of Ainz, and adopted a protective stance.

The crystal crumbled as the magic inside it released, and then it was as if the sun itself had come to visit. The whole area lit up in brilliant light, and it was as if the air itself had been purified by this new being's arrival. It appeared made up of a collection of wings, save from a comparatively small torso with two arms wielding an impressive sceptre. There was no head or legs to be seen anywhere, but although strange, no one would think to deny this was a holy being.

Nigun and his casters certainly seemed bolstered by the angel's appearance.

Ainz was honestly stunned. "This angel... this is your strongest trump card?" she uttered in disbelief.

"That's right!" Nigun said smugly. "I have deemed you worthy enough to use this item!"

"What on earth..." Ainz slowly put one hand over her mask. What could she even say to this?

"Are you afraid?" Nigun taunted, only able to interpret Ainz's reaction in that way. "I respect you as an opponent, you can take pride in that. So I had to use that item to destroy you. You will be remembered!" Nigun's confidence had certainly come full force.

"This is just... stupid," Ainz finally said.

"What?" Nigun sounded like that wasn't the reaction he had expected.

"I'm sorry, Albedo. I made you use your skills to guard against something this simple." Ainz felt embarrassed having been on guard for something like this. This angel? Really?

"Think nothing of it, Ainz-sama," Albedo assured her. "When you consider the possibility that something stronger may have been summoned, it only makes sense to take every precaution."

Ainz chuckled. "You are correct, of course. I just can't believe this is the best they can come up with. It's truly shocking." If this was truly the strongest angel this world had, then she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

"I-impossible! It can't be!" Nigun was in his own state of disbelief, it seemed. "How can you be so calm in the face of a being humanity can't defeat?! You're bluffing! You have to be bluffing!!" He looked up at the angel. "Dominion Authority! Use Holy Smite!"

Holy Smite was a tier seven spell, which Nigun knew was beyond the reach of any human, and beyond the ability of any human to stand against. This angel was said to have defeated an evil spirit, and to possess the power to single-handedly level entire cities. In his estimation there was no way Ainz could face this ultimate being.

Ainz sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll let it happen. Will you be satisfied then?" she asked nonchalantly. In fairness tier seven was above anything she had seen so far, but she had kinda hoped for something better. Part of her was itching for a challenge, but she knew you should be careful what you wished for.

"Taste the power that defeated an evil spirit, the judgement of God!" Nigun proclaimed with a loud shriek.

A pillar of light struck down where Ainz was standing, with her in the middle. It certainly looked impressive, and she could actually feel it, but... "Ha ha ha ha," she couldn't help laughing. "I see, I see. It even stings a little. So when it gets to this level it can actually hurt me." Admittedly not much, but she was taking actual damage. So this is what it was like to feel pain in this body. Honestly she'd had worse stubbing her toe. There was the initial sting, but this was totally bearable.

The column of light faded, and she stood there just as whole. Her passive regeneration had already restored the small amount of HP she had lost. "I guess that count as another experiment concluded. Excellent, most excellent." She was feeling rather content about that.

However there was someone who was less than happy. "You pieces of scum!!!" A voice shrieked. "How dare you... in what reality do you think you have the right... to cause harm... to our beloved master, a Supreme Being?!?!" Albedo was so incensed that she couldn't speak calmly. The hatred and bloodlust coming off of her was immense. Ainz was impressed, and wondered whether the Theocracy casters would faint from the mere pressure. If she had still been her old self, she was certain she would have. "Know your place, you insects!" Albedo continued. "Death is too merciful for you! I will-"

Ainz quietly raised her hand. "Relax, Albedo."

"But, Ainz-sama..."

"It's fine," Ainz said calmly, placing her hand on Albedo's shoulder. "Aside from the surprising weakness of their angels, everything is going according to plan."

Albedo calmed down, and stepped back. "Understood, Ainz-sama."

"Though I am happy to see you stand up for me," Ainz said fondly, with a smile under her mask. "It's touching to know how much you care."

"A-ah, th-that's only natural, Ainz-sama," Albedo suddenly sounded uncharacteristically bashful.

Ainz looked back at her opponents, and stepped forth. "Now it's my turn." She was going to show them a taste of true power. "Feel despair." Before Nigun or the angel could act again, she wove together a couple of spells. "Shadow Puppet." A copy of Ainz that looked like it was made of black mist appeared right up close to the angel. "Sacred Flame." This was her favourite spell. One of the ultimate techniques of the pyromancer, it was a touch-based spell like freezing touch. But she could circumvent the need for actual proximity with a clone.

The clone's right hand started glowing with a chaotic flame, that it plunged into the angel's body. The angel started trembling, and they could see liquid fire starting to leak from various places. It bulged a bit, and then exploded in a shower of fire and light. The fire dissipated before it hit the ground, but the heat was palpable. With all of the light gone so suddenly, it seemed darker than before.

"A... a power that surpasses that of an evil spirit." The wind seemed to have gone out of Nigun's sails. "Who... are you?" he asked.

"Ainz Woolfe Gown," Ainz said quite simply. "In the past that name was known to all."

Suddenly it looked like part of the sky cracked, and it made a sound like a broken jar. Then it was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

"W-what was that?" Nigun asked.

"It seems like someone was trying to watch you from afar with intelligence magic," Ainz explained. "It triggered my defence barrier, so they can't have seen much." She always had that up, but it hadn't occurred to her that it might actually come in useful here. If it had, she would have woven in some spells to give the attempted spies a nasty surprise. Some sort of explosion, maybe.

"My own country was watching me...?" Nigun certainly sounded like he was sinking into further despair.

"Alright, that's enough playing around," Ainz said in a tone that carried a certain finality.

It didn't pass over Nigun's head. "W-w-wait! Ainz Woolfe Gown-dono. No, -sama!" He had gone into full grovelling mode. "If you spare our lives, no even just my life, I will give you any reward you ask for! I promise you will come out ahead! I will give you anything!"

Though Ainz was not the one who responded. "Did you not refuse my Lord's most generous offer earlier?" Albedo reminded him in a soft, friendly tone. Nigun froze. "Lower lifeforms like yourselves should bow down and wait, and be happy when their lives are taken."

Ainz finally removed her mask, and showed them a predatory grin. "If I remember your own words correctly: Cease your futile resistance, and fall quietly. If you do, I will make sure your death is swift and painless."

* * *

Night had settled across the plain as they were walking back. Each and every one of the Theocracy's casters had been sent back to Nazarick, whether dead or alive. She had remembered to keep some for questioning this time.

 _I wonder if I went a tad overboard_ , Ainz thought. _Were my actions acceptable as the ruler of Nazarick?_ She was still worried about how she appeared in front of her subordinates.

While Ainz was going over all of that in her head, Albedo spoke up. "Ainz-sama? Why did you save Stronoff?" she asked. "You even gave him such an important item."

It might be true that they were technically irreplaceable now, but she really wouldn't call that item important by any stretch.

"I figured he had earned that much," Ainz said. "The item let me monitor his battle, and I learned much. Letting him die would be a waste, when I can instead have his gratitude." Maybe she should have stepped in even sooner, but once she got back she'd see what she could do for both him and his men. It was hard to imagine all of them were still hanging on, but she'd do what she could. "Besides, as I said earlier, I have developed a certain fondness for him. His body may be weak, but his will is not."

"I see. But I could have gone in your stead. There was no need for you to get personally involved, Ainz-sama," Albedo brought up next.

It was true that Albedo could have handled that lot alone with no issue, but Ainz had felt like she was literally burning to get out there. Besides... "I have no doubts about your strength, Albedo. I would trust you with my life. But until we know more about this world, we must always proceed under the assumption that our enemies are stronger than us."

"So that's why you used that man as a pawn," Albedo said. "I find your use of humans to be impeccable, Ainz-sama."

It sounded like genuine praise, though Ainz wasn't sure how to respond to it. Yet it was undeniably true that she had used Stronoff to learn more about their opponents.

* * *

When they arrived at the village, everyone came out to greet them, led by the Titan elemental. It had stayed behind to guard them all, on Ainz's order. Even Gazef Stronoff showed up.

"Ah, Head Warrior. I'm glad to see you up and about," Ainz said. _More than you know_ , she added to herself. "I would have liked to have aided you sooner, but that item takes a while to charge up. I apologise things got that close to the wire."

"Not at all, Gown-dono. I am grateful you managed to save me at all. But what happened to..."

Ainz recognised what he was referring to. "Ah, I drove them off. I figured it would be impossible to take them all out, and I was right. I doubt they'll be returning any time soon, though." She gave Stronoff a once-over. He looked like a mess. She stepped closer to him. "Please hold still," she told him. He gave her a curious look, but obeyed. She held forth her hand. "Nature's Mend." Green energy flowed from her hand, and into Stronoff. All of his wounds disappeared in an instant.

The shock on his face was apparent. "W-what did you..."

"I know some druidic magic as well," Ainz said, with a hint of amusement at his reaction. "Consider it part of my apology. How do you feel?"

Stronoff tested out some movements. "Better than ever," he said, and sounded completely sincere. Maybe it was too much healing energy for someone of his level. Still, it made her smile.

"With your permission, I would like to see to your men, as well," Ainz offered, as a way of gauging whether they were actually still possible to help. She didn't know what Albedo thought of this, but tried to not worry about it.

"By all means, Gown-dono," Stronoff said, and quickly led the way. She wasn't sure if he sounded surprised or excited.

All of them had been laid out in the house everyone had been hiding in. Only a couple of them were well enough to even sit up. Well then, time to see if this worked.

"Mass Cast, Nature's Mend." She held forth both hands for this, and the green energy spread out across the room, seeking every living body, and filling it. Even in all the glow she noticed that some of the men went untouched. Yet for some reason she didn't feel as bad about it as she would have expected. Just a slight 'that's a shame'. But so long as the rest were hanging on by even a thread, she felt certain this magic would reach them.

The more alert of Stronoff's soldiers started stirring as their wounds magically disappeared. "There. That's all I'm able to do," Ainz said, turning to Stronoff. "They will probably still need rest, and I would say the same of you, but they should be out of danger."

The look of amazement on Stronoff's face was almost overpowering. "Yet again, words can not express my gratitude, Gown-dono," he said. "Should you ever find yourself in the capital, feel free to stop by my manor. I shall welcome you with all the hospitality I can muster."

"Oh? Well, maybe I will take you up on that," Ainz said. It certainly sounded like an interesting proposal. Though how should she present herself when visiting a city? She'd worry about that later.

"So what are your plans now, Gown-dono? My men and I intend to rest here, per your suggestion."

"I see. I intend to move on, though I haven't decided where I'll go yet," Ainz said. Of course she was heading back to Nazarick, but she couldn't tell him that.

"At night? But..." Whatever Stronoff was about to say, he stopped himself. "My apologies. Someone as strong as you clearly has nothing to worry about. Should your travels ever take you to the capital, I hope you'll remember my offer."

"I shall endeavour to do so, Head Warrior," Ainz said, and exited the building.

Somehow the whole day had passed simply because she had decided to save a village this morning. The fatigue was setting in again. Hopefully she'd grow more accustomed to this.

"Let's go home," she said to Albedo standing outside, and the demon was quick to come along.

"Was it truly necessary to use your precious magic on the likes of humans?" Albedo inquired.

"Necessary?" Ainz pondered. "Perhaps not, but I figured that if Stronoff is truly as important as it appears, it might help grow my legend even further." They had reached a suitable spot, and she couldn't sense anyone nearby. "Or maybe I am simply too kind. Do you think that's wrong of me?"

Albedo bowed her head. "Not at all, Supreme One."

Ainz desperately wanted to give Albedo the full 'good girl' treatment of headpats, and maybe even chin scritches, but that would have to wait until they got home. Assuming Albedo had no objections.

"Gate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking up spells and how they would work was one of my favourite things while writing this. Some names and effects where taken from various games I've played, but I came up with a few of my own.  
> And I had already decided for my Ainz to be a bit more gentle when dealing with allies than Momonga/Ainz, hence offering to heal Stronoff and his men at the end. I had by that time intended to make some of the other denizens of Nazarick a little bit softer in their personalities as well. Which ones, and how much, that is still to be determined.


	8. Epilogue: New Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of their life in this new world had been a hectic one, but now was not the time to slow down. They had a new purpose, a new cause, and the faster they got to it, the better.

* * *

The next morning, after letting Ainz indulge in some headpats, Albedo was delivering her report on what had been done so far with the prisoners and corpses they had taken.

Nigun and some of his men were still alive, and were set to be questioned. Hopefully they'd get some good information out of it. As for the corpses, the theme of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was the undead. A lot of the auto-spawning minions were various types of undead. Even with her guildmates gone, there were NPC necromancers that could work with the corpses, and see what they could make of them. Ainz was considering if there was anything else she could do with them, as well.

Strangely enough the Titan elemental had stayed around. Usually summoned minions disappeared after a set time limit, but this one didn't. Her hypothesis was that in possessing that stone, the elemental had gained a tangible connection to this world. When she had time she would have to experiment with summoning something without possessing an item to see what that did. For now she had set the elemental to be an additional guard for the first floor.

Additionally she had decided to trust Albedo enough to tell her that she had messed with the demon's settings shortly before they came here. That her fondness for hugs and cuddles wasn't something her creator had intended, but rather a wicked impulse from Ainz.

As a response, Albedo asked: "What was I like before you changed me?" She didn't seem angry, and was still smiling.

Ainz hadn't thought far enough ahead to think that Albedo might ask that. Telling the demon that her creator had meant for her to be slut was not an easy thing, and Ainz struggled to come up with a way to explain that without just saying it bluntly.

Before she had the chance, Albedo spoke again: "In that case, I think I prefer the way I am now. Please don't worry about it."

"But..."

"But?" Albedo genuinely didn't seem angry, yet Ainz's guilt wasn't vanquished that easily. Especially since she kept taking advantage of it. "Then let me phrase it like this," Albedo suddenly said. "Do you dislike me being this way?"

"Er... n-no, definitely not," Ainz said. _You're soft, nice, and sometimes I wish I could just hug you for hours and forget the rest of the world_. She stopped herself from saying that last part out loud. Even if she was shameless, she should restrain herself a little.

"Then I believe that's what matters," Albedo said, sounding satisfied. "I'm sure Tabula Smaragdina-sama would understand."

Ainz was absolutely not convinced of that, but if that was what Albedo believed, then she should probably let it go. It certainly wasn't helping anyone if she kept worrying about it.

Well, it was about time they left for the meeting.

* * *

The throne room contained every NPC in Nazarick not currently occupied by a task they couldn't get away from, and there were even some minions, carefully hand-picked by the floor guardians. Yet the room was so vast that it still looked a bit empty. The guardians didn't like the idea of minions being down here at all, and had only allowed them onto the lower floors because of Ainz's orders.

"First, I apologise for acting on my own," Ainz told them from her seat on the throne. She wasn't really that sorry, but she didn't want to give the impression that she didn't trust them. "Albedo will inform you of everything that happened." While she was curious how Albedo was going to phrase the events, it was probably better than Ainz trying to do so herself.

"However, there is one announcement I have to make right away." She raised her hand. "Greater Break Item." The banner with her crest on it vanished in a lick of flame. "I have changed my name." She tapped the Staff against the ground, and stood up. "From now on, I shall be known as Ainz Woolfe Gown. You shall call me Ainz! Should anyone have any objections, stand and voice them now."

No one reacted, and then Albedo spoke for all of them: "We have heard your great name. We devote absolute loyalty to our most noble leader. All hail, Ainz Woolfe Gown-sama!"

Everyone behind her chimed in: "Hail, Ainz Woolfe Gown-sama! The one who brought together the Supreme Beings! Our true Supreme Ruler! To you we devote our everything! All shall know of your greatness!"

"Now I bestow upon you an absolute order," Ainz said, a little drunk on the atmosphere. "Make Ainz Woolfe Gown an eternal legend! All shall know the name! All shall know its greatness! We are still making preparations, but we must work towards that day. The day when all know that there is none greater than Ainz Woolfe Gown!"

Maybe she was getting carried away, but she truly wanted to spread the name to all corners of this world. Let every sentient being know. So that her friends, or anyone else, stranded in this world would know to come find her.

 _My friends, can you forgive me for taking the name of our great Guild all to myself? Should you return, I will happily go back to simply being Wulfy, and no more_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of book 1. A bit of an abridged version from the original book, but I had a lot of fun writing it.  
> It's all more or less the same, so it didn't take that long to get through it. Writing is a lot easier when you already have a framework laid out. Writing all original material is much trickier and time-consuming. Though it still consumed several days.  
> I already have book 2 written as well, and will be putting that up over the next few days.  
> I have yet to make up my mind about the third book. More on that at the end of 2.


End file.
